Dodecahedron in Sketchup

I've just started learning to use Google Sketchup. It's a much more user-friendly environment than 3D Studio Max, which I used to use years ago. It doesn't look as powerful though. I've modelled a dodecahedron so I can visualize what my final piece will be for the Hunt Museum. Here is a simple version:

Next step is to extrude the shapes, create the holes and apply an image map, if that's do-able...

Electronic Dodecahedron Idea

I've been working on an idea for the Hunt Museum installation. I would like to construct a replica of the bronze Roman dodecahedron from PCB electronics boards, that I will design, print and cut, and LEDs. The idea is to print the information about the item (period of history, where found, material, etc) onto the PCB board and then to cut out 12 identical pentagons. I would then construct the dodecahedron from the pieces. At each corner there would be an LED. All LEDs would be connected to another PCB board with a circuit on that tells the LEDs to light up at random. This board would be situated inside the structure. I would also like to hook up a sensor that would increase the speed of the LEDs as the viewer approaches. Ambitious? Definitely, given my lack of experience in this area, but I'm eager to give it a go!
Some sketches I made earlier today...

I started off with the basis of Metatron's Cube:

Then connected all the centres of the circles:

Constructed a dodecahedron using further calculations:

Visualisation of proposed idea:

Arduino Ping Pong Ball Mood Lamp

Over the weekend I did a little project with the Arduino. It's very simple. There are three LEDs (red, green and blue) that randomly fade up and down in brightness and they are placed inside a ping pong ball. The ball diffuses the light and so a constant blending of colours occurs. It's quiet nice but unfortunately the green LED is weaker than the other two so it's not exactly as good as I'd hoped. Here's a short video demonstration:

The Roman Dodecahedron

I've been researching the item at the Hunt Museum. It seems to be a mystery as to what the function of this Roman artifact might have been. The dodecahedron (one of the five Platonic solids) symbolized the spirit, or ether, for the Ancient Greeks but there has yet to be a definitive explanation of this bronze, Roman object. Some suggestions have been: a candlestick holder, dice, a survey instrument, a device for calibrating water pipes, a base for army standards. There has also been presented the theory that it was used for determining the optimal sowing date for winter grain. G.M.C Wagemans presents, in detail, this theory (see article).
A map showing the sites where this mysterious artifact has been found:

Installation at the Hunt Museum

As part of the Contemporary Art in the Public Realm module we have been set a task by the Hunt Museum to build models of the artifacts on display with an electronic theme. The idea is to reconstruct the pieces using scrap electronics. Today we visited the museum to view the pieces on display. There were a few items that caught my attention. First a spiked neck brace and helmet:

Also, there was a spectacle brooch from the Iron Age and a bronze dodecahedron from Roman times (1 - 4 AD):

The dodecahedron, in particular, I am intrigued by as I have long had an interest in sacred geometry. I would really like to choose this piece for the project. Some pictures of the dodecahedron:

There were other items that I thought would be interesting to work on too, including a small chest, a wooden cross, a neck ring and a small comb:

Abandoned Spots around Limerick

I've been noticing many abandoned buildings around the city since I've moved here. I would like to do a series of photographs of these places if time permits. I went to this building on Musgrave St. today mainly to take a photo of the door/gate that leads around to the back. Absolutely fantastic looking.

Digital Sex: Pornography and the Pornification of Society

I just delivered my seminar entitled "Digital Sex: Pornography and the Pornification of Society" this morning as part of the Professional Issues in Digital Media module. Phew! I really enjoyed researching the topic and am thinking of going into further detail on the issue for my final report. I discussed the varying definitions of pornography around the globe as well as pornography in terms of different ethical frameworks: Deontological, Consequentialist, Utilitarian, Feminist, Virtue. I came across some interesting landmark court cases in the states that have had serious consequences for the issue of Internet pornography and pornography in general. I might focus on the debate about virtual child pornography and it's legality and morality for my final report. A slideshow of my seminar can be found here for anyone interested.

Three Interesting Talks

I attended to three interesting talks in the last week.

The first was a talk by Stelarc AKA Stelios Arcadious  in the Crawford Art Gallery Lecture Theatre in Cork and was absolutely fascinating. Stelarc is an Australian performance artist probably most known for implanting an ear created from cells into his fore-arm. He also had a wireless mic fitted into the ear so that anyone could hear what the arm-ear was hearing through the internet. He took the concept even further by implanting a small wireless speaker inside his mouth so that he could make calls through the web, speaking into the arm-ear and listening through the speaker in his mouth!  lot of his work explores the bouderies and relationships between technology and the physical body. Food for thought. Check the Stelarc site for more. A very interesting character.

The second was delivered by Fabiano Pinatti, a PhD student at the Interaction Design Centre in UL. He discussed his area of study and his research methods. He is looking at the idea of Digital Nomads and the Knowledge Economy: "how place, activities and the social world constitute the experience of nomadic users; in what way technologies are shaping people's work/life on the move; what the aspects of mobile interaction that design could meaningfully support are." It was helpful to hear his approach to choosing research paradigms and epistemological and ontological assumptions.
Nomadic Work / Life in the Knowledge Economy website.

The third talk was at the monthly IxDA event at the Absolute Hotel and was given by Prof. Mike Phillips from the University of Plymouth. He focused on sustainable interaction design and towards the end talked bout the ongoing projects by the i-DAT research group at the Centre for Art, Media and Design Research in Plymouth. I picked up some great leads that will be useful for my own research at this.

Performance Art - BrainStroming (!)