Online Journal

Fustigation of the Hierophant: online journal

Fustigation of the Hierophant: dual channel video projection and kinetic sculpture based on a large pendulum: mini cameras, microphones, video and radio transmitters

Artist Research

Rebecca Horn Germany b1944
Pendulum with emu egg 1987-1994
aluminium, emu egg, electric motor

Pendulum With Tip

Steve Reich's Pendulum Music(1968) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendulum_Music

Fire Pendulum at Burning Man Festival USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEJ44fcYkK4

Laser Pendulum Art: large pendulum with a laserpointer as the bob swinging above a sheet of glow in the dark material. bob is on a ridgid arm attached hung by means of 2 metal jump rings. essentially the same as pendulum sand art, but since there is no resistance from the sand, the pendulum will take longer to come to rest, and the patterns formed will be more intricate. turn off the lights and set into motion, use camera without flash to record interesting patterns.

Pete McPartlan U.K. 2007, swinging camera experiment for art installation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-6ruXgTaTI

just a camera swinging on a string

Mumtoz (Tajikistan) Pendulum video art peice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfMfrh4mjRQ

Technical Research

Pendulum calculator animation: http://monet.unibas.ch/~elmer/pendulum/rpend.htm

How a pendulum clock works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendulum_clock

Interview with Joyce Hinterding on radio signals: http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-9808/msg00074.html

Radioqualia: http://www.radioqualia.net/epistemology/frame.html

Shortwave radio wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave

Tetsuo Kugawa: excellent resource for building radio and video transmitters very simply and cheaply. Also as an artist: http://anarchy.translocal.jp/radio/micro/howtotx.html

Instructions for the Video Transmitter: http://anarchy.translocal.jp/microtv/howtotvtx.html

Towards Polymorphous Radio; essay on the FM radio underground in Japan

build a pendulum with the Arduino!

Plans for installation of 'Pendulum Radio'

Performance by Tetsuo Kogawa using radio transmitter circuits

22/08/08
set up the first pendulum attempt which failed due to a faulty proximity switch, the idea was to add moment to the pendulum using a proximity switch activated solenoid with the energy from the return spring on the solenoid pushing the pendulum shaft. Am now concidering a motor turning an oval shaped disc to push the pendulum shaft.

30/09/08
Have tried several different ideas to drive the pendulum which has proved harder than I thought but have come up with this offcenter motorised version which if I attach a spring to give the shaft flexibility works very well.

First pendulum design

The solenoid method of pendulum movement; not really the go

The rotating disk with off centre shaft method, also not the go

Proof of concept for current successful method

Started soldering circuits based on Tetsuo's designs

Comleted video transmitter; it is as simple as this

The variable power supply gives voltage from 0v to 24v and helps to tune the circuit

First successful wireless transmission of video signal, from DVD player to TV. Circuit in foreground

So the circuits work! I tried plugging in the minicam into the same circuit as the DVD above and the signal was very faint and intermittent, not really usable

15/09/08
Tetsuo Kogawa recommended a video amplifier IC for the security cameras to help send them through the wireless tv transmitter. I could not find that exact model though this one may be a substitution http://newzealand.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=5228512

This turned out to be unavailable so Tetsuo sent another idea, a circuit with a separate amplification stage that is again very easy to build.

Have built this circuit and got it going. It does strengthen the signal from the mini camera. I tried increasiong the voltage up to 12v and that also improved the signal. Overall though the devices are quite unstable in that the TV will lose the signal sometimes. I am concidering the project as a peice of performance rather than installation. That way I can ride the devices and alter the cameras in real time.

Did another experiment where I used the transmitter and mini camera on one TV and had another mini camera filming that TV which was shown on a second TV. This resulted in a nicely distorded and surprisingly dynamic image. Ones proximity to the antennas effects the reception, the distortion being magnified by the second camera. I am concidering using this technique in the final installation the cameras filming the TVs sent to video projectors.

22/09/08
Successful first test of the whole apparatus. The sound is intense, industrial and surprisingly rich/textural. The video interesting patterns of static and camera image. Both mediums take their periodicity from the ocillations of the pendulum. I am starting to get a sense for the aesthetic of these circuits; very encouraging. I still have to find a better motor attachment for the pendulum driving mechanism.

25/09/08
Have found an interesting book; Handmade Electronic Music, The Art of Hardware Hacking by Nicolas Collins. It is filled with practical ideas for building all sorts of experimental and noise based musical instruments most of which are exceedingly simple. This is a direction that I definitely want to take. Subvert the specular nature of software based sound! Add an element of 'three legged' theatricality to the work!. Due to approaching deadline this stuff will form the basis for my next work... need to focus on the video and radio transmissions though for this project definitely.

In order to create more/bigger sound I will have two radios and four radio transmitters. Two transmitters will take the microphone outs from the mini cams and broadcast those to the one each of the radios, this should create feedback. Another radio transmitter will have a decent electrocet/condensor microphone, this takes its own battery and should provide a decent level of feedback. The forth transmitter will have no input and will be transmitting hum and hopefully a richer texture.

09/10/08
After alot of tweaking of (and frustration with) the second TV and transmitter I was forced to give up and have brought another TV and built another transmitter. This almost immediately yeilded a much improved signal. I also brought and tested a new microphone on the radio transmitter and this after some tweaking has yeilded a more melifluent feedback range. Along with the improved cam for the pendulum driver the whole thing is greatly improved and is heading towards a sucsessful installation.

13/10/08
Definitely a similarity to Steve Reich's Pendulum Music (1968)as I have gone with the microphone to create the most sound, it has the widest variety of tones which lends a sense of spaciality to the rythm. Reich on Pendulum Music

I really need another two matching minicameras to video the two TVs sending the image to the two data projectors.

Have ordered two matching minicameras, total cost $78 delivered.

20/10/08
Have been reading Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio and the Avante-Gaurde by Douglas Kahn and Gregory Whitehead interesting content regarding early radio art and interpretation of John Cage's radio art. Ive been working towards an artists statement for Pendulum Radio, I am also hoping that this will lead to a better name for the work as well, perhaps "Entelechy"?

I have ended up building many circuits

Artists Statement as used for public viewing:

Fustigation of the Hierophant

Both sound and image are transmitted wirelessly from primitive hand built circuits, revisiting explicable technology. Deliberate corruption and reversal of the pleasure producing apparatus of mass media communications. It is a post apocalyptic cargo cult idol, a technoshamanic divination tool, a lab grown abomination shrieking its way into places it should never be.

A pattern emerges, a periodicity of sound and vision. The hypnotic interplay of sound and image, complementary binaries, ebb and flow, the analogue, evocations of Tesla, robotics, radio art, noise. The work is procedural, auto-poetic, it is the thing itself, non-representational. It is the three legged theatricality of the extraordinary, the anomalous object, the do it yourself audiovisual entelechy.

- Motorised pendulum fitted with 3 radio transmitters, 3 microphones, 2 mini cameras with two TV transmitters

- 2 Televisions with antennae receiving signals from separate pendulum mounted camera and transmitter pairs

- 2 radios receiving signals from pendulum mounted microphones via FM transmitters

- 2 projections receiving direct camera signal from 2 mini cameras mounted in front of television

fustigate vb. (tr.) archaic. to beat; to cudgel
hierophant n. a person who interprets and explains esoteric mysteries

Fustigation of the Hierophant is a warning system

Pete Gorman 2008

Installation in Computing for free basement studios.

Installation went well after replacing a broken camera on the pendulum head and some time spent in tuning in the circuits. Also the longer length of the pendulum shafte required a lower motor voltage as the period of arc was slower.Work was well recieved in both assessment for Graduate Diploma and in public viewing that evening (thurs. 13th November 2008) There was some difference of opinion between visitors and assessors as to the appropriate degree of audio volume

rebuilt site specific pendulum driver	circuits being mounted onto pendulum head
pendulum head and second TV at rest	television closeup in action

video documentation via blip TV