Hunt Museum Project Complete

This morning Dominique Bouchard from the Hunt Museum will be coming to the presentation of the Hunt Museum project. My interpretation of the Roman dodecahedron:

Hunt Project Progress

On Monday I took all my bits and pieces to the workshop in the Schroeder Building in UL. Much thanks to Séamus who gave me a run-through of the band saw and the bending machines. It was nice to be working with my hands away from a computer screen for a change. The piece is coming along nicely now and should be completed over the next couple of days...

Dodecahedron Plan Revised

I've thought about my original plan for building the dodecahedron for the Hunt project (only using circuit boards and LEDs) and have decided that it would be pretty boring. So, I've added some elements. I plan to make some of the sides using circuit boards, some using computer casing and some using the transparent, flexible circuits from the inside of the keyboard. It should give the impression of an object mid-way through construction where the different layers are visible. Kind of like the death star...

... except using

More scavanging

Got up bright and early today and cycled out to Hegarty Metal Recycling to look for more material for the Hunt project. There was loads of great stuff there but we got hunted out by the general manager (after being given permission by the guy at reception!). Dang it.
I managed to get something cool out of an old keyboard I found elsewhere though...

May Update

After a bit of a break at Easter it's back to work. Currently I am developing the concept for my project and working on building a basic prototype using PD, Flash and Arduino.
Also I've been scavenging old discarded electronic devices for pieces that I can use for the Hunt Museum project. I got my hands on 2 old CD players and a digital TV box and busted them open this morning. Some pics...

CD player 1

CD player 2

Digital TV box

The whole bounty!

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:

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: