Pythagora Device No.58 Conveyor
Keio University, Sato Masahiko Laboratory | 2005
Display Size
Unknown
Materials & Equipment Used
Cloth, wooden boards, acrylic sheets, dry cell batteries, marbles, desk, square timber (only for the conveyor mechanism section)
System Configuration
Point 4: Conveyor
Boards pre-marked with “ピ,” “タ,” “ゴ,” and ‘ラ’ are stacked on the conveyor. A gate is positioned at the conveyor’s exit, allowing only one board to pass through at a time. This causes the stacked boards to slide down, sequentially arranging the four letters “ピタゴラ.”
The conveyor’s power source utilizes the force generated by weights attached to four dry cell batteries sliding down an incline.
(Sato Lab & EUPHRATES 2006:69)(1)
Concept
This is the Pythagora device, Device No. 58, created in 2005.
It consists of several mechanisms aligned with the theme: as the device progresses, previously absent elements appear and become functional.
- A string tied to a miniature car becomes taut as the car moves forward, then forms a rail for the ball to pass through.
- A flipped-up board has a small hole drilled in it; when a marble passes through it, the board falls, and a wire attached to a previously unseen board becomes a rail for the marble to travel on.
- As the conveyor moves, stacked wooden boards come into view from off-screen; passing through a gate transforms them into the title logo.
Pythagora devices frequently incorporate attempts where elements like marbles themselves control the device’s state or behavior. This creates a visual surprise and sense of satisfaction for viewers watching the device’s movement on TV, as they observe how the device’s appearance has drastically changed from just seconds prior, yet it operates as if this transformation were entirely natural.
Notable examples include “Blazing My Own Trail” (2002/Device No. 27) and “Preemptive Capture” (2007/Device No. 87).
This “Conveyor” mechanism, as explained, “derives its name from the smooth movement of the cloth pulling out the four boards bearing the letters ‘ピ’, ‘タ’, ‘ゴ’, and ‘ラ’ for the finish, resembling a conveyor belt.” (Sato Lab & EUPHRATES 2006:69)(1) It iconically treats the part where the conveyor mechanism creates the title logo.
The program name “Pythagora Switch” is written in katakana. Katakana is a phonetic script; the characters themselves hold no linguistic meaning and only acquire meaning when arranged into strings. In “Conveyor,” the camera captures the moment linguistic information is born as the conveyor mechanism aligns the character panels one by one.
By prompting viewers to think, “What’s this? A pile of stacked boards came along, and then it became the word ‘Pythagora’!” the work delivers a sense of exhilaration: the transformation from non-linguistic information, or information without linguistic meaning, into meaningful linguistic information.
Works sharing a similar concept include “Anagram Machine” (2005/Device No. 50), ‘Wiper’ (2006/Device No. 68), and “Fly Swatter Car” (2008/Device No. 95).
Source
(1) Keio University, Sato Masahiko Laboratory & EUPHRATES (2006) “Pythagora Device DVD Book Vol.1” Shogakukan p.69
Comments
Written by: Ofuchi
Elements of Interest
How data lacking linguistic meaning gains linguistic meaning through the device’s behavior
Elements to Incorporate
Conveying characters one by one on a conveyor belt
Bit.Fall
Julius Popp | 2006
Exhibition Dimensions
Height: 8m Width: 67m Depth: 12m
Dimensions vary depending on the location.
Materials & Equipment Used
Solenoid valve: electrically controls the lid.
System Configuration
Uses solenoid valves to form characters.
Retrieves text from the internet, such as Twitter.
Concept
“Bit.Fall” is a liquid screen where each drop of water becomes a pixel.
The way and rate to which the drops of water collect allow to write letters and words scrolling like endless credits.
These fragile and short-lived signs become so many messages and random slogans fading one after the other.
These words directly taken from the world web in real time appear suddenly and fade away on the edge of the Loire river, on the borderline between visible and invisible.
Source
Work description page at Estuaire (an art festival held around the Loire estuary delta in France)
Bit.Fall article at OBORO (art center in Montreal, Canada)
Article on Bit.Fall by Illuminate Productions (UK contemporary art organization)
Comments
Written by: Ukai
Elements that piqued my interest
The fleeting nature of its appearance.
Elements I’d like to incorporate
The way digital information is expressed as analog information.
Text Rain
Romy Achituv & Camille Utterback | 1999
Display Size
Any screen size is acceptable.
(At SIGGRAPH 2000, a screen measuring approximately 4.5ft × 6ft was used.)
Materials & Equipment
Camera, projector, computer
System Configuration
Unknown
Believed to be achievable using tools like TouchDesigner.
Concept
“Text Rain” is an interactive installation in which viewers play with the falling text of a poem. The text responds to motion and can be caught, lifted and released to fall again. If participants accumulate enough letters along their outstretched arms, or along the silhouette of any dark object, they can read words and phrases formed by the falling letters. With active participation the text of the poem can be gradually reconstructed.
This work eloquently blurs the boundaries between the physical and virtual, echoing and complimenting the structure of the interactive experience within the piece.
Source
Comments
Written by: Sugawara
Elements of Interest
The fact that the output consists of the characters the user inputs, rather than specific strings, and that the user can actually interact with them through the computer.
Elements to Incorporate
The aspect where the output consists of the characters the user inputs, rather than specific strings.
Digital/Analog Mirror
ksawery komputery | 2023
Display Dimensions
Height 100cm Width 70cm Depth 10cm
Materials & Equipment Used
Camera
Camera Controller
7-Segment x 4-Digit Flip Display
Custom-Built Application
System Configuration
Processes information from the camera using a custom-built application.
Outputs the processed information to the display from the application.
Concept
It questions how technology has become integrated into our lives and how it influences our self-awareness and identity.
Source
Comments
Written by: Ukai
Elements that piqued my interest
The masterful control of the custom app. I’m curious how the input is processed.
Elements I want to incorporate
The brilliance of the input processing. Achieving this level of seamless integration would feel like heaven.