drawing

anti-detection / anti-interception

It’s not very hard to imagine a future where AI and autonomous systems form a global surveillance system with the ability to see and act everywhere simultaneously. Drone swarms navigating at multiple levels of the atmosphere all around the world. We have always had an obsession with the idea of autonomous technology taking over, more specifically even the idea of killer robots. I do believe that we are on a technological trajectory that could lead to some of these imagined futures where we are all ruled by machines. Take a look at this New York Times article on the current state of this kind of technology. Right now there are still humans in the loop, but once we are taken out, things will evolve quickly. Who knows what the future will hold.

Global Deterrence Systems

mysterious signals

Intercept Transmission, digital illustration with 3d printing, 2024

For close to 50 years there have been mysterious signals emitting from areas within the former Soviet Union. There is much speculation as to the exact purpose of the signals. Some have been given specific names such as, The Buzzer, The Pip and The Squeaky wheel. Some of the stations have been located and identified. UVB-76 is one of these stations, still transmitting after having moved locations as recently as 2010. Most of what can be heard on the transmissions could be considered mechanical sounds, however there are reoccurring coded messages and the occasional voices speaking Russian. The theories of what these signals really are range from far fetched threats to hoaxes and accidents. The potential consequences of these signals may never be fully understood. Whatever the intention, it is clear that the manipulation of signals and frequencies only continues to increase globally. Currently there is something interfering with or jamming GPS signals in Eastern Europe. It has had a direct effect on civilian air travel in multiple nations. It is known that this jamming signal is coming from within the Russian territory of Kaliningrad. Take a look at these articles in POLITICO and Air & Space Force to learn more.

digital ghosts

corrupted data… incomplete file structure… error… error… error.

end of transmission

What does digital decay look like? As corruption compounds and data gets fragmented digital hallucinations begin to form. Paranoid thoughts of an artificial intelligence loosing its mind. Autonomous systems acting on lost transmissions and incomplete information drift towards total collapse.

progress in the studio

Self-directed research and learning is not always as fruitful as I anticipate. So far with this project things are far exceeding my expectations. With the amount of information, examples and tutorials online, I am happily finding the answers I need to feel like I can experiment freely. I still do not know exactly where this work will lead, but the possibilities become more clear each day. I hope to include sound and movement in this work as well. I believe that will allow me to create the kind of immersive experiences I am hoping to create. As this work in the studio progresses, the stories from these places also become more clear to me. I am looking forward to using these tools to share some of the moments I’ve imagined and to answer some basic questions. What has happened in these places since our time? How could surveillance, ai and autonomous drones reshape the landscapes of the future? What can be learned from the romanticisation of these ideas?

drone 1001a 3d rendering 2023

Origins

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.

the clues are all around us

Cellular communication towers, patriot missile batteries, primitive spears and lances, radar dishes, the ostankino tower and nike missiles, antenna of all types. These are a few of the of the very specific things you will see in my landscapes. Everything I include has a purpose and everything relates to the content or the ideas that I hope these places inspire in the viewer. I have been told at times that these ideas are prescient, but how I see it, this is how it has always been and will always be. The feedback loop is the same, the technology is what advances. Is this not what we always desire?

mini card detail

DISTANCE Works on Paper by Skowhegan Alumni includes two machine drawings

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

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...

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