Project Megapixels

[sputnik]

No ideas for the picture yet. I'd like to hear what the theme is before deciding on what it will be, but in the meantime I think that this is a good enough place to gather ideas. Once I get a web site going I can take images there and display them.

[Mozy bonz]

Any idea when the theme release will be? When I talk to people about this they all want to know what it will be. I find it difficult to get people into it with out that info. I sent out e-mail on this to people that would understand BM and how it works.

[sputnik]

The theme should be made public in a month or so. I agree that it's hard to talk about without a specific image, but I think that can be part of the allure. Why should people know what it is before it's finished? I hear the ladder will be back this year. I'd like to locate near it in order to entice people to climb the ladder.

OTOH, we can tell them anything and change it later.

[Mozy bonz]

do you have a structure set up yet? I was thinking that if we did line art with gps you could draw a very compacted design and use the GPS and a water truck lay out the design following with lay out flags. with GPS you can retrace the design that you made in the computer. try diff designs before you do it. also the connect-the-dots style image could be dashs 1/2 the structure set up.

[Mozy bonz]

You could adjust the spray width to adjust the line.

[sputnik]

Nothing is done yet Mozy. Anything is possible.

On the playa I prefer to follow the KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid. I do this because simple means there is less to remember and because I get stupid out there from time to time.

For the time being I think it's best to stick with the original design plan and keep line art as a backup should support not be available to build the full-size piece. It's always easier to cut back on the scope of the project, but it'll be impossible to restore the scope to the project later should it become wildly successful and we haven't planned for it.

[Mozy bonz]

Ok so if I get the first concept was basically making a color picture a pixel at a time. people pick a section or a few to do.

[sputnik]

Right. Maybe people sign up for 1 piece or maybe they want to bring 10. Either way they get assigned a color or colors and are told how many to bring of each. On the playa they tell us who they are are we look them up to know where the pieces go.

[Eric]

I'm in.

One thing to remember as the design is laid out- the satellite image last year was taken on Saturday- Burn Day. That means "Pixels" has to be planned to survive for the full week and still be visible. We all know that once art is out there, people interact with it.

The design needs to be simple enough to read from space (or a plane), and simple enough to survive a week of, well, us playing with it.

[sputnik]

Thank you Eric. Yes, it does need to survive. So we need a perimeter fence that lights up at night. I think a large orange snow fence all around will limit traffic somewhat. I wanted to have it be a big ass shade structure since that would keep feet and bikes off of it, but I doubt that we can manage to put up such a large structure. Maybe, but it would be a shitload more work.

ETA: I'm off to bed. It's late here on the east side.

[Mozy bonz]

then this could open up to people not at BM make one mail to this address we bring.

[Mozy bonz]

sorry good nite. eric you still there.?

[Mozy bonz]

...

[Eric]

Thank you Eric. Yes, it does need to survive. So we need a perimeter fence that lights up at night.

Personally I don't like the idea of keeping people out of it. It needs to have some connection to us on the ground (so to speak) as much as it does to someone in the air who can see the whole picture. Fencing it off removes it from the community and makes people care less about what it is. I think it would destroy the wonder of what you're trying to create.

My thinking in my previous post was more along the lines of making it somehow stronger than just fabric so it would survive people moving through it- or making it raised fabric maybe like small tables? Something people can move in and around and experience and wonder about, even if they can't quite "get" what it is.

Look at "Sola" but think of it on a grand scale. It didn't make much sense during the day, but at night it was magic.

Just brainstorming. Also trying to figure out how to diagram what I'm thinking of while thinking "budget".

[Eric]

sorry good nite. eric you still there.?

Still checking in, but busy trying to organize 20,000 photographs (not digital), so not really paying much attention here except when my brain craves freedom.

*wheeee*

[sputnik]

Personally I don't like the idea of keeping people out either. I would rather that the whole thing was overhead. However, I think the only reasonable way to get this done without a lot of additional work is to put it on the ground. I also am concerned about vehicle traffic more than foot traffic. If the perimeter is merely strings of lights and one string goes off for some reason, there is no way that a passing art car will see anything until it's run over some rebar (or not) and totally trashed the whole thing. At least with trash fence it will be immediately obvious that there is something ahead.

WRT strength. Yes, that could be an issue. I think that the fact that this will be parallel to the ground (perhaps even on the ground) reduces the effect that the wind will have on it. However, I think we'll either need to fasten it down at many points internally, or break the whole thing up into 5x5 or 10x10 sections that are independent of each other so that a failure in one place doesn't affect other parts of the whole. I had even toyed with the idea of individually fastening each pixel to the playa, but that would require something like 40,000 spikes. A bit too much to deal with if you ask me.

On the question of interactivity I have some thoughts:

- People will bring their squares of material. In my original concept it was just some core group bringing the whole thing and assembling it themselves. That would have been a lot of work for a small group. So, by spreading this out, everyone gets to participate in the creation of the art.
- Allow people to actually attach their pixels to the grid. This should be pretty easy. Just point them at the right row and column. 8 staples later and one square is in place. This has the advantage of distributing the workload so that no one is squeezing a stapler constantly.
- When people arrive with their pixel have them cut out a small piece and have them glue that piece to a large board mounted at the entrance. Thus we can see the progression of the whole.
- Assuming the big ladder comes back (which I've heard), locate nearby to encourage folks to climb so they can view the whole thing

All these ideas require that the site be staffed all day long (perhaps too tall of an order to fill). But it is why I think camping at the site would be useful.

[Mozy bonz]

Pixels for Space.....(Quote)>>>sputnik

Very recently links have been posted to the zoomable image of Black Rock City. And I thought this was cool since it was the 05 event and the last one I had seen was pre-03. Then today _thegypsy posted the link in her journal again and mentioned finding her tent. This led into a 5 minute conversation between us during which I realized what I want to do next year (this in spite of the fact that I swore I would not do big art again).

So here it is...

Using 1 meter square single color fabric swatches, create a 100 meter by 100 meter image that is only visible from a plane or space. Imagine working on the first piece of art specifically designed to be photographed from space!

None of this is set in stone. I may not even do it if I can't get enough participation.

Here are some of my thoughts that I've brainstormed or just had appear in my head late at night:



Putting the pieces on the ground to cut down on wind related issues. - Problem is that this will require something like 40,000 spikes.

Make the whole thing a huge shade structure so that it can only be seen from above in total - wind is a huge problem here as is internal support.

In order to reduce on site complexity have sections pre-sewn into 5m x 5m squares

If gathered together in one place the material would occupy 10 cubic meters

Need to see if they will take this photo again in 06.

Get help creating a web site where people can sign up for a piece of the picture. Must produce a clickable grid showing which pieces are already spoken for. Take their contact info, verify email, email them the colors they sign up for.

Raise the bar on community involvement by only providing 'infrastructure and organization' Each participant will supply their 'pixel'. This could involve 1/3rd of the population of BRC, but probably much less. Even 500 participants reduces the total number of pieces per person to 20.

Infrastructure will consist of: perimeter fence and lighting, 400 stakes and 22,000 meters of twine to lay out grid, industrial staplers and 100,000 staples.

Pixels will be stapled to the grid. Each participant will bring a piece 44 inches square which is a standard width for material and will leave enough spare for folding over the twine grid.

Organization will consist of the above stated web site, binders to hold the information for on playa use. Each page will show a 10x10 grid with pertinent info in the square.

Contact someone with a plane to take daily progress photos.

Overbook pixels. Can always use extra pixels to replace those that might blow away or not actually make it to the playa.

Plan to burn this, so material should be cotton.

Cut into sections for easy transport to public burn platforms

Line walk area after removal and drag a roller magnet to pick up loose staples.



The example photo below shows two 100x100 icons on the playa. I've estimated the correct size of the playa image based on the MAPS dome which is 60 feet across and is about 20 pixels across in this image. Neither of the icons shown are likely to be the one actually used at the event. I'll be taking suggestions and considering something that fits the theme.

[sputnik]

Mozy?!? Trying to say something here?

[Mozy bonz]

No just bringing it to the front so people don’t need to look for it.

[revjackassholio]

Hi, I posted the Google Earth info and got your response and found your thread. I have never been to BM but am currently working out the logistics of attending '06, and I think this would be a @#$%ing outstanding way to get involved and meet people and participate, especially as a newb.

Count me in and it will be an extra incentive to work out the logistics of going (mainly dumping my current girlfriend...she just doesnt get "it" )

Thanks!

[Mozy bonz]

[sputnik]

That scares me Mozy.

[Mozy bonz]

Ha ha ha did you mean the picture or the pixels ha ha ha
I was just playing with Pictures was not meant for the art ha ha ha
didn't mean to scare you ha ha ha. The pic should he is a scary guy

[sputnik]

That first pic is what worries me. Is that homer?

[Mozy bonz]

no ha ha ha ha I don't want to tell you now Ha ha ha it was a face I was playing with I will pull it down Ha hahahah I was using the face to see how big I could make a pixel and it still look like a face. I don't know why this is cracking me up but it is. ha ha hahahahah

[sputnik]

That's OK. Anyway, what sort of transformation are you using on the images? I would expect to do some sort of 4x4 color blend (though I know nothing of photoshop) where all the colors in nearby pixels are merged. Still, this will only be an example of what it might look like since there is no way to predict which pixels will get grouped together or even that lines of our picture will line up with the scan lines of the satellite. We can try to get enough info in order to line it up, but who knows if it'll work.

[Mozy bonz]

ok sorry I was using a mosaic to tile up the photo. I understand how the sat picks up the photo so with large tiles and a simple picture you lose less more of a Positive - negative type picture.

[LeChatNoir]

So I’ve been pondering this great idea of yours sputnik and I had several passing thoughts.

Karine spearheaded a public art project on her UW campus this fall. It was a mosaic roughly 6' by 6', comprised of individual 12" tiles that were each painted and suspended vertically. Between each tile was a swivel mechanism that allowed the tiles to spin in the wind independent of one another. Each tile was painted by individuals to form a picture when strung up in the proper order. They opted for an abstract painting since they were already running out of time when the idea came about. But the mosaic was well executed none-the-less and I’ve heard it was a real joy to see in action. I only got to see still shots of it but was duly impressed.

Pros to this idea adapted to yours:

Could allow for dealing with wind over such a large surface area, allowing each piece to spin rather than catch the wind. This could make for a great visual sensation when viewed from playa level. It could also make it easier to safely play with the pieces if "Pixels"

Cons to this idea:

Each piece would have to be constructed within a frame, and so would increase the cost and labor of the entire project. Heavy duty swivel mechanisms would add to this cost also, not to mention the beefed up framework and cables grid to support it all. But how cool would it be to walk under this enormous canopy of images and reach up to spin one around only to wonder “what the hell is it?” But again, it’s just a thought that popped into my head and I figured I’d share it. Feel free to rule it out.

#2) Use a standard paint type available at any building supply place. As Mozy pointed out, stick to using one brand of paint or at the very least stick to primary colors for your image, since as you stated, from a distance it won’t make any difference.

#3) Are you planning on folding the fabric over the grid line material and stapling it to itself, like a folded piece of paper? Canvas might be a decent choice since it’s heavier and may tear out less easily and it is after all, a canvas. $5 a yard or so at some fabric places.

#4) The thought just occurred to me... could burning so much paint be an issue? If so what about some sort of ink or non toxic dye?

#5) Hem cut edges of fabric to prevent string MOOP.

#6) Assign numbers to each square and have each creator place said number on his or her "pixel" so you know where it goes when it arrives on playa.

Oh... it's playa-paint-by-numbers!!!

[sputnik]

So I’ve been pondering this great idea of yours sputnik and I had several passing thoughts.

Oh... it's playa-paint-by-numbers!!!

I was planning on having people donate material that was already colored, thus no paint to worry about. They could buy it or scrounge it if they have a lot lying about. Heck, if you have the color blue and have a bunch of old denim jeans or skirts available they could be sewn together.

Yes, hemming the edges would be wonderful, but only needs to happen on the non-selvage edge. However, many people won't know what this is, so the plan (in my head) was to fold the edge under and then fold the whole over the line and staple it on, thus trapping the loose edge inside. I've found an industrial stapler and staples specifically designed for fastening material together. Rather inexpensive too.

Yes, each pixel must have a number, something like 1/58 to designate row 1 column 58

Canvas would be great, but I'd rather allow folks to choose whatever cotton based material they like (with that one caveat). If I knew someone would take this all away at the end, then I wouldn't be so concerned. I'm actually not real happy with the idea of disposing of this much material and would welcome any ideas for reuse.

I do think it would be wonderful to have this be overhead, and I really like the spinning idea, but, as you said, when talking about 10,000 squares the work involved in setting it up would be so monumental that it would require everyone from the city to assemble.

[diane o'thirst]

How about donating the squares to a quilt project?