In spite of not posting anything for several months here are a few updates:

1. Moving out of the country to teach.
2. Deferred a graduate program for one year though it's not my first choice graduate school. I chose to do so because I was nominated at my university for a really competitive scholarship, but even as a finalist I will only have around a 3% chance of winning. If I don't win then I'll decline my admittance.
3. Trying to get a domain name.
4. Doing a series of drawings referencing documentary video footage of Oliver the "Humanzee" (though not a real Humanzee)
5. Doing a series of 2D assemblages from computer components
6. Attempting to write a cogent statement about my work.
7. Five films I watched recently: Alphaville (1965), Vampyr (1932), Gummo (1997), a few Paul Sharits films (1968-76), Howls Moving Castle (2004).
8. Deciding on how I will manage my studio work while overseas.

There have been no recent posts due to slaving over graduate school applications and trying to find the money to pay for them. In addition to that, I have been extremely stir crazy, generally tired, and on edge, maybe I need to give myself one entire day to just sleep, but I know I can never drive myself to something that absurd. Recently, I did get two applications submitted (and a third is on the horizon) and I celebrated by watching Mister Lonely and eXistenZ. Entries will be more frequent post January 15th and this journal may become some sort of note taking/image/sketch log. As for now I know where I need to be investing my free time.

I use to play here when I was a kid.  Nearby was a chicken processing plant, the gravel road just beyond the parking lot use to be masked by trees so you could easily sneak back there.  We nicked named this place "the desert" which it was like a "desert" surrounded by a sprawl of pine trees; it's still there in the picture with most of it's cover torn down.  The recent land development has effortlessly procured this frequent spot of my childhood and unveiled all it's secrets.

I have returned from Vermont. I was up there because I was given some fellowship money to attended an artist residency I applied for. Deciding to do this was a last minute ordeal, I literally had about a week to decided If I wanted to go or not, despite that, and the portion of money I still have to pay, I agreed to stay for a month.

me


work


work


gihon


leaving



The weather in that part of the country was nothing short of vaporous and gray for the duration I was there. But what does that even matter to me (absolutely nothing), I did not even go out for a walk, a hike, other than between the studio, my bed, and the dining hall. The remanding parts of my time there were spent with the other artists, a lot of them were a real pleasure to converse and to critique with. Being there and talking to these other residents and visiting artisans gave me a better sense of security with my own work, especially when I'm still trying to find a specific tone I would fit into and I only say this because I'm harsh on myself (I'm sure somebody else could label me as something). Labeling can be a little confining, just like attempting to title something and not have it ruin the quality of contemplation and whatever dialectical value it may retain.

When I returned home I immediately went to the film festival in town. This year the films that were notable to me was the documentaries; two of the docs that really stood out were I think we're alone now and Rock-A-Fire explosion. My screening went okay, when my film was screened two things happened 1. I had an epiphany that the content in my video was probably not suited for any typical audience. 2. A lot of people left.

Has been accepted into the local film festival.

Frames:

Currently in:




looking at:

Night visions II

Recently I've became interested in night vision, mainly in it's pseudo-philosophical function concerning our infatuated gaze upon technology. Here is some really general information about night vision:

Generation 0

The first night vision device was utilized in 1936 during WWII. Active infrared technology was put to use in the original NVD system allowing a person to see in the dark. The AI device (very large and clumsy) would shoot a beam of infrared light at whatever the device was pointed at, this beam would bounce off the targeted object and back into it's lens to be processed into an image. This was abandoned for military use due to the fact that the infrared light from the device could be seen in the dark. The advancement of these night vision optics are broken down into consecutive generations.



Generation I (passive infrared)

A passive infrared NVD does not project an infrared light to it's target, but it uses ambient light emitted by the moon and the stars to create a viable image in the dark. Cloudy or moonless nights yields to a less discernible image. Inside of a passive infrared device would be an image intensifier tube. The ambient light this tube absorbs is made up of photons, these particles of light pass through a photo-cathode tube inside of the device which transforms the photons into electrons. These electrons are amplified, then displayed on a phosphorus screen that changes the electrons back into visible light , and the results:



Generation 2

This model incorporates a microchannel plate inside the of the image intensifier tube, enabling the detection of more electrons, resulting in a brighter image and higher resolution. Because of the addition of the MCP , even on a moonless night the operator will still be able to see in the dark.




Generation 3

The photo cathode is now made of gallium arsenide (gallium + arsenic) which converts photons to electrons more sufficiently. An ion barrier film is now coated on the MCP increasing the lifespan of the image intensifier tube.



Generation 4

The ion barrier film is removed from the generation 3 MCP to decrease visual noise. An automatic gated power supply is integrated allowing the voltage within the photo cathode tube to automatically adapt to the surrounding lighting environment.