machine vision

The Last Operator

in , ,

The landscape is a natural barren wasteland. A near monochromatic world where everything is covered with a fine red dust. Not very different from the countless depictions of the planet Mars in science fiction stories. But this is not the red planet, this is Earth, in a not so distant future. Anything green in this place has long since dried out to dust and blown away. Here we find the last of the human advisors to the eternal vision drones, looking out over an all too familiar landscape. Just ahead is an old communications relay post. The operator sends the drone out ahead to get an advanced look at the area. Machine Vision reveals all, transmitted directly to the operator's AR (augmented reality) goggles from an encrypted link to the drone. Human vision, augmented by the electro-optical sensors of the drone in real time. Day or night, the night vision and thermal imaging of this system are extremely accurate.

These posts were once a symbol of the total surveillance state that prevailed during the end times. As part of a global deterrence system, these stations monitored all of the communications in the surrounding area. Now they are simple time capsules, waiting to be found. Most of the time they have been completely picked over by scavengers long ago. But this post somehow looks untouched. Is it possible that any of these systems still work? What will be gleaned from the remnants of civilization lost?

The Last Operator, mixed media with 3D printing, 9 x 6 x 7 inches 1:150 scale, 2024

killer drones are here to stay

in ,

Drone swarms are real and it is only a matter of time before we see them in action. This is something that has been in the works for a long time and is only now becoming more of a public conversation. The “collective mind” has been a theme of science fiction for even longer. If you are interested in learning more, check out these two written pieces about this reality.

New York Times piece on killer drones from 2023 HERE

Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists article from 2021 HERE

The Future Is The Past

in

I have for a long time considered autonomous drones to be the future of surveillance and warfare. I wrote about this initially in 2006 in my graduate school thesis. I then only knew a fraction of what I know now to be true about the premonitions I had. As the war in Ukraine rages on for a second year, my ideas continue to be reaffirmed. Russia and Ukraine are caught in the feedback loop of a weapons race. The deployment and development of drones on the battlefield has now clearly fundamentally changed the entire battlefield. FPV drones that cost a fraction of the equipment they are used to destroy are a great example of this. Both sides are using these drones simultaneously for offensive and defensive applications. The operators of these drones are human, however the ambition to have swarms of autonomous drones on the battlefield before 2025 is real. UPDATE: The day after this post the Pentagon announced it’s “replicator program”… The goal is to produce thousands of inexpensive autonomous drones and have them in use within two years. Here is a link to a POLITICO article with more info. I’m sure more will come of this in the media.

Origins

in ,

The screen becomes a portal into a relentless perception. Ceaseless scans seen through decaying vision. Congested atmospheres shroud savage ruinous landscapes, where the only equal to their horror is their beauty. Hints of sound emanate from the shadows around me. The detached views in front of me give access to a hunt, a search, a gathering of data. At what distance can I see this unfolding, this unrelenting visual interrogation? Fragments of schizophrenic familiarities only add to the displacement of a context. Is this the future or a romantic envisioning of another past? Multiple views only intensify the confusion of scale and lack of historical placement. I respond with unease to the possibilities envisioned from these views. The haunting emptiness of the subtle sounds maintains the curiosity of these in human landscapes. As I wait in anticipation for answers to my questions, I find myself searching, hunting for that critical rupture in the pattern. I’m looking for something that has not been seen.

DISTANCE Works on Paper by Skowhegan Alumni includes two machine drawings

in

D O R S K Y G A L L E R Y Curatorial Programs is pleased to announce

Distance, curated by Betsy Alwin and Steve Locke

Opening on Sunday, February 17, 2019 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. and remaining on view through April 7, 2019.

Curators Steve Locke and Betsy Alwin organized their exhibition around the concept of distance in dialogue with divisions in the contemporary moment. Solmaz Sharif’s poem “LOOK,” which explores consequences that result from perceptions of difference and distance, served as inspiration for both the curators and the artwork in the show. This led to a very specific conception of social, political and tactile distance, represented by 57 artists from 18 states, 9 countries and a 60 year span of Skowhegan alumni: Kim Abraham, Alejandro Acierto, Lauren Adams, Negar Ahkami, Colleen Asper, Rebecca Baldwin, Keren Benbenisty, Caitlin Berrigan, Suzanne Broughel, Derrick Buisch, Neil Callander, Greg Chann, Sue Collier, Oliver Comerford, Karishma D’Souza, Anthony Craig Drennen, Jesse England, Nicholas Fraser, Baris Gokturk, Rachel Granofsky, Mark Haddon, Russell Hamilton, Katie Herzog, Carol Blaser, Saskia Jorda, Courtney Jordan, Nils Karsten, Becky Kinder, Baxter Koziol, Shaun Leonardo, Anthony Lepore, Cyriaco Lopes, Colin McMullan DBA Emcee C.M., Master of None, Nat Meade, Alex Morris, Helina Metaferia, Nyeema Morgan, Bennett Morris, Ester Partegás, Carol Pepper-Cooper, Bundith Phunsombatlert, Marilyn Propp, Hanneline Røgeberg, Sherrill Roland, Michelle Rosenberg, Annesofie Sandal, Amanda Schoppel, Austin Shull, Molly Springfield, Draga Šušanj, Elizabeth Tubergen, Traci Tullius, Tabitha Vevers, Robert Wechsler, Yoav Weinfeld, and Jane Westrick.

Missile Defenses, Landscape 010

Missile Defenses, Landscape 010

Missile Defenses, Landscape 019

Missile Defenses, Landscape 019

Thanks

in

Thanks to everyone who came out to the opening of Machine Vision at The Press Hotel. It was a wonderful crowd filled with friends from all over. I’m especially grateful to have the opportunity to show so many of the drawings in one place. The full breadth of the series is visible with so many of them together. Extra thanks to the staff at the hotel for all of the work they put in to make the opening so special. 

Missile Defenses, Landscape 01x

Missile Defenses, Landscape 01x

New ideas take hold as the old ones try to hang on...

in , ,

As each new piece is finished it is hard to not ask myself what is next. For me it’s a natural tendency to want to start or resolve something new. One of the things I do to counter that is to look closely at what I have made for potentially previously unseen variations or experiments within the parameters of the process. Currently I’m continuing the Machine Drawings series, while starting to experiment with some new ideas. The focus of the current drawings is to amplify and expand on some of the nuances or unique qualities of the previous drawings from the series. I’m specifically working with a more narrow color palette to a few quieter landscapes that have more atmosphere. Simultaneously I’m experimenting with translating the drawings into dimensional objects. I’ve started by using the laser cutter to cut out and etch lines into the layers of the drawings. I will be using colored acrylic plastics with varying densities or etched lines on them. It is critical that these pieces take on not just the photographic qualities of the drawings, but also some of the interactions between line and shape. I’m not exactly sure where this will lead or what the final piece(s) will be. Possibly some kind of shadow box, infinity space or illuminated diorama…

Studio sketches

Studio sketches

Drawing Machine

in ,

This clip shows one of the large machine drawings in progress. For this drawing I’m using the full size CNC to make a drawing that is 39 x 50 inches. Moving up to this scale from the smaller CNC has revealed some unique phenomenon. Not only does it take considerably longer to finish, upwards of 150-200 hrs, but there are also many unique marks that are only revealed at this scale. The resulting drawing, because of it’s large scale, becomes more immersive to the viewer. It also reads well from further away and makes more use of the perceived colors created by the overlapping horizontal lines. Stop by The Press Hotel to see this drawing and more in the real. @thepresshotel #machinevision

MACHINE VISION

in ,

As technologies escalate and expand surveillance capabilities they dictate how we perceive and act simultaneously. We are witnessing the creation of a post-human vision that incorporates both the visible and invisible spectrums. This interminable vision has given us a false sense of control and institutes a union of the real and the virtual. Our current state of anxiety, insecurity and unease propels us to amplify our pursuit of more expansive autonomous systems that act on the immediacy of both actual and manufactured data. The reality of horror is deferred through the sterile views produced by this technology. Acting as global deterrents, these systems perpetuate an endless feedback loop suggesting the eventual breakdown of control, and ultimately, the decay of information itself.

These drawings are the culmination of a multidisciplinary process and a complex translation of my ideas. I’m using a CNC router as a drawing machine to create  images that blur the boundaries between contemporary technologies, photography and the traditions of drawing. Made entirely out of horizontal lines these intricate landscapes appear digitized and contain glitches and artifacts of the process which clearly reference interlaced video and the aesthetic of surveillance. Revealed within these ruinous worlds are the technologies of surveillance and communications juxtaposed with the weapons and systems related to global conflicts past and present. This visual combination speaks to the tensions between what we find beautiful and what terrifies us.


Missile Defenses, Landscape 013

Missile Defenses, Landscape 013