Augmented Body: Empathetic Hair 3

The initial inspiration for this type of project originated from this experiment about puppies being bred with sea anemone proteins:

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newscientist.com%2Farticle%2Fdn17003-fluorescent-puppy-is-worlds-first-transgenic-dog.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFyvy8q8X8iZ53KjNg38Z1Iw_aRcA


There was also the implications brought to hand about the type of cultural impacts this type of augmentation would have.

--If there were one type of "ideal hair", how would one force that sort of idealized texture/color onto themselves?

   -Would it be mentally healthy?
  -Would it be considered a norm to try and go for ideal hair?
  -Would someone be able to give convincing lies in their lifetime? Could this ability be controlled and used for manipulation?

--Would the ideals be drawn from our current standards, or would an entirely different standard be introduced?

Augmented Body: Empathetic Hair 2

Here is the primary image I started with. I would be changing my hair color to suit my current expression (keep in mind that eyebrows won't be affected, since the alteration of all bodily hair follicles would border on the inefficient):

I decided based on the loose curliness of my hair and the crooked, flat smile, my hair would range in the yellowish tones:

However, once I came to this color, I decided I wanted something a little more vibrant instead of a color that could probably found in nature. I also decided that I was showcasing a little bit more emotion, like some sort of "pique" or interest:

Augmented Body: Empathetic Hair 1

My idea for an augmented body would be to replace head hair (excluding the eyebrows) with a type of synthetic hair-like fiber that would be able to detect changes in the person's emotion and alter itself to reflect that change.

Mundane hair color would not be used with these fibers--rather, the color spectrum would change dramatically depending on the metaphysical, subjective "mood" the person is currently in (righteous, happy, depressed, angry, etc.).

Hair texture would be affected too--although this would be affected by the physiological aspect of the human emotion that is felt (changes in body heat, heart rate, etc.)

The changes would take place in real time as the fibers themselves are altered by special glands and sensors that would replace the sebum and sebaceous gland of regular hair. While the synthetic hair would still grow to a max 10", new growth wouldn't be required for changes to take place from the follicle level. 

Here would be some concepts  regarding the hair's appearance during/after change. The colors follow the ROY G BIV color scale, only white would indicate an "absence" of "data" (IE, there are no/there is very little subjective emotion in the area to determine a suitable reaction). Similarly, straight hair would indicate sub-par body heat, while the hair fibers would get wavier and curlier with more excited the person would get (Their heart rate goes up, their blood pressure rises, etc.). 

Flesh and Metal: Reconfiguring the Mindbody in Virtual Environments

It's true that the language and the research used in this article far out-strides any common understanding that I might have within this field. I feel, however, that the real reason it's so obscure for me to understand is also the reason why it's such a fascinating topic, which is the metaphysics involved in the topic. The idea of perception being a sum of its parts (the idea of what it means to have a body is dependent on the idea of embodiment, and vice versa) is an idea that's not often expounded upon, but whose implications potentially impact many technological and cultural forms and expressions.

My biggest question concerning this topic is: Where is our collective perception going? How will we view our bodies and embodiments in 2020? 2220? It's astounding to think about, especially since we're unable to predict the technological and cultural advancements that will happen in 5 years or so.

Chance and Indeterminancy: "Ultradelic"

Using the same system as before, I rolled again for a second piece:

MY RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:

1. Charcoal
2. "Dreamscape"
3. "Ultradelic"
4. Cow
5. Strong Reds (rolled for "muted" tone)

Since the red would have to be muted and my materials were restricted, I decided to flood the entire plane with a washed-out red tone:

Here would be the charcoal "pencils" that I would be using (I had totally forgotten that I had white charcoal available!):

Since the style was "Dreamscape" there wouldn't be much in the way of a set design/pattern to the composition (unlike with the "It Came From the Night!!" piece, which was heavily processed and planned before the final product). When I think of dreams, I think of something ephemeral and half-formed, yet filled with the sensations and intentions of an idea or an emotion-- something whimsical and coherent all in the same time. How could I translate a "dream" onto paper? Basically, I just splashed as much charcoal as I could onto the paper without it resulting in an inarticulate mess--and it was somewhere around here that I discovered an "udder" somewhere in the work, thereby tying it to a bovine subject:

Here would be the finished product! (Although, of course, the image quality does it poor justice):

Chance and Indeterminancy: "It Came from The Night!!"

So! First thing's first, I had to have come up with a system for determining how/what I would make with said project.

My system included using these dice:

With this system:

d(4) Media-- Charcoal(2), Gouache(1), SAI(3), Graphite(4)

d(6) Style-- Anime(1), Abstract(4), Naturalist(3), Inorganic (objects)(5), “Dreamscape”(2), Typography(6)

d(8) Title-- “The Sea Shore’s Calling”(8), “It Came From the Night!!”(6), “Thumping”(1), “Ultradelic: The Return of the Green One”(7), “Bounce Bounce! New Egg Super Happy”(3), “Flight”(5), “Soft and Sweet; Simple and Clean”(2), “Not Today”(4)

d(10)--Subject: Cow(1), Donkey(2), Orangutan(3)(?), Construction worker(4), Lunchlady (5), Doctor(6) Banana (7), Cheese (8), Ball(9), Feather (10)(Suggestions by: Semper, Evvers, wanderer, imi)

d(%) Note--colors will come from COLORED PENCILS if SAI or Gouache are not rolled for Media

10%--Strong Reds,

20%--Strong Oranges,

30%--Strong Yellows,

40%--Strong Greens,

50%--Strong Blues,

60%--Strong Violets,

70%--Heavy Highlights/Reroll,

80%--Heavy Shadows/Reroll,

90%--Muted Tones/Reroll,

100%--Heavy Saturation/Reroll

d(12)

d(20)

MY RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:

1. GRAPHITE
2. TYPOGRAPHY
3. “It Came From The Night!!”
4. Ball
5. Strong Violets

I was *not* happy at this point, as I didn't really expect to roll for Typography (which is, by far, my least favorite and least practiced expression on the list of possibilities). 

And here is where I finally sat down to attempt to put it all together!

Cleaning lines!

The preliminary outline. Typography is a lot harder than I anticipated, as it forces you to utilize the space/parameters provided in ways that stretch your imagination to the limits.

A close up of the preliminary sketch.

I forgot to take some progress pictures of the color--however, you can clearly see the poor, decimated  prismacolor pencil (which was brand-new when I started this project!)

And here is the (first) finished product! (of course, I will probably bring it into class).

Self Portrait: The Ingredients

Screenshot of "Killer Instinct", a childhood favorite of mine.

This is BrickSQUAD!, a knock-off alpaca plushie purchased from an anime convention.

'

My 7-set gaming dice. Very proud.

Fried pies like my father used to make. Since he literally made these.

A MadCatz gamecube controller; what a relic indeed.

Self Portrait: Clearly Some Interesting Stuff Happening Here

The surrealist quality of the piece is intended, I assure you. I am quite surreal.

Feature Artist: Lionel Theodore Dean and "FutureFactories"

What started as a research project-turned-thesis, FutureFactories is the studio of Lionel Theodore Dean who specializes in the use of 3D-prints, Additive Manufacturing and Rapid Prototyping technologies in order to create end-use projects. He works exclusively within the realms of Direct Digital manufacturing.

This work featured here, named "Creepers", was a commercial work commissioned by the company Materialise. It's a modular space-dividing LED light system. In Dean's words: "I imagined this design by slwoly spreading across the room sending out 'feelers' for the next attachment." I'm personally not quite sure exactly why it was originally commissioned or how Materialise will use the piece. For me, I like this particular piece for the simple yet intricate composition of the crawling vines of flowers across the space, as well as the soft, ambient glow of the LED's which give it a soothing, tranquil effect.

In all, I found Dean's work to be enthralling and interesting, especially when one considers the lack of a physical medium. I think it's the unorthodox use of digital and computerized tools to produce something traditionally aesthetically pleasing that really captures my eye. When asked if one could visit the factory, Dean's responded with: "The factory is virtual; perhaps you are already there. A wide variety of systems and technologies are employed in the work. Where it is physically produced is not the issues. It could already be done in your own home."

"Tuber9"