About
works of Carl Pisaturo
Area 2881...
Area 2881 (panorama below) is a 400 square foot installation of functioning kinetic and light art, including many of the objects described here, and is open to the public periodically. To visit, see EVENTS or Email Carl for an appointment.
It is named after its address: 2881 23rd Street San Francisco CA 94110 USA
Area 2881 (panorama below) is a 400 square foot installation of functioning kinetic and light art, including many of the objects described here, and is open to the public periodically. To visit, see EVENTS or Email Carl for an appointment.
It is named after its address: 2881 23rd Street San Francisco CA 94110 USA
Acknowledgements...
Very special thanks to Peter Desmond and Bertille LeGrand for supporting this work with an essential foundation: a reasonably priced workspace in this very expensive city.
Thank you to my long time employers at Stanford - Professors David Prince and John Huguenard for allowing me the flexibility to do this work, as well as building my technical skills with many interesting projects.
Thanks also to Jeff Weber and Aaron Edsinger of MEKA Robotics for technical and facility support.
Very special thanks to Peter Desmond and Bertille LeGrand for supporting this work with an essential foundation: a reasonably priced workspace in this very expensive city.
Thank you to my long time employers at Stanford - Professors David Prince and John Huguenard for allowing me the flexibility to do this work, as well as building my technical skills with many interesting projects.
Thanks also to Jeff Weber and Aaron Edsinger of MEKA Robotics for technical and facility support.
photo: Michael Ang
Objects..
The many objects in Area 2881 are designed and fabricated by Carl "from scratch", starting with raw materials including slabs of plastic and aluminum and components like motors and ball bearings. Most objects include custom electronic subsections and embedded software, which exist in service to physical structure and mechanism.
The techniques are mainly those of traditional machine building: sketching; creation of explicit drawings; machining of each of the many parts on lathe and milling machine; assembly; electrical integration; revision. There are also unusual molding and casting techniques used. It's a long, expensive process to build a reliable "one-off" machine: several months and several thousand dollars typically.
There is an emphasis on smooth motions and visible physicality in general. The structural forms are minimalistic, exposed and logical - more geometric/organic than fanciful. Quality non-corroding materials are used throughout, and allowed to show off thier beauty devoid of coatings. Machined 6061 aluminum, random-sanded and steel wooled is used extensively, with stainless steel for high stress jobs and sanded polycarbonate for translucent lower stress structures. Tinted epoxy and brass are used sparingly. Lighting, LED and incandescent, is incorporated as a key interplay with the physical forms and motions. Much effort goes into reliability, details and finish.
The objects are intended to be experienced with the senses more than the rational mind, and as such fall into the tradition of sensualist kinetic art which goes back millennia - to orchestrion clock towers of medieval Germany, fountains of Italy and beyond. The machine age and the electronics revolution have given not only a vast new toolkit to this tradition, but also a vast cultural/visual/emotional sourcebook.
The many objects in Area 2881 are designed and fabricated by Carl "from scratch", starting with raw materials including slabs of plastic and aluminum and components like motors and ball bearings. Most objects include custom electronic subsections and embedded software, which exist in service to physical structure and mechanism.
The techniques are mainly those of traditional machine building: sketching; creation of explicit drawings; machining of each of the many parts on lathe and milling machine; assembly; electrical integration; revision. There are also unusual molding and casting techniques used. It's a long, expensive process to build a reliable "one-off" machine: several months and several thousand dollars typically.
There is an emphasis on smooth motions and visible physicality in general. The structural forms are minimalistic, exposed and logical - more geometric/organic than fanciful. Quality non-corroding materials are used throughout, and allowed to show off thier beauty devoid of coatings. Machined 6061 aluminum, random-sanded and steel wooled is used extensively, with stainless steel for high stress jobs and sanded polycarbonate for translucent lower stress structures. Tinted epoxy and brass are used sparingly. Lighting, LED and incandescent, is incorporated as a key interplay with the physical forms and motions. Much effort goes into reliability, details and finish.
The objects are intended to be experienced with the senses more than the rational mind, and as such fall into the tradition of sensualist kinetic art which goes back millennia - to orchestrion clock towers of medieval Germany, fountains of Italy and beyond. The machine age and the electronics revolution have given not only a vast new toolkit to this tradition, but also a vast cultural/visual/emotional sourcebook.