Art ~ Digital Media

I knew this image would not give the original work justice.  The mottling from the sunlight through the shade trees throws off the metering of the camera.  I was in P&S (point and shoot or Program mode) when I should have taken some time in a different mode. This is an exoplanetary celestial dial map made from multiple mahogany veneers.  The celestial dial map allows one to select a month of the year 2012 and display those known and newly discovered exoplanets based on NASA's effort with the Kepler space telescope and other programs.The design artwork was cut and etched with a laser.  When SJSU students can't get machine time on campus they go to the tech shop around the corner.  This was absolutely beautiful and visually engaging.  SJSU.

 

This amazing contraption is the brainchild of an art major with a concentration in Digital Media.  I initially thought that this was a project of a mechanical engineering student.  This X-Y plotting device connects to the internet and streams real-time data from the USGS Twitter feed on earthquakes.  It then marks in the sand those epicenters.  The plotter was made from materials from many sources...notice the framing by 80-20.  Art Department at SJSU.

Each divot in the green sand is the epicenter of an earthquake greater than magnatude 1.0.  The plotter streams the degrees and minutes data from the USGS Twitter feed.  The magic sauce is the algorithm that converts that data into the sand map's X-Y coordinates.  San Jose State University.

A better-exposed image of that celestial dial.  Art majors with a concentration in Digital Media border on majors in engineering.  San Jose State University.