Cataclyst

I have just updated my Manifesto, and be sure to check out the brand new gallery. Also, I just uploaded the first documentation of the Cataclyst Greenhouse.

By the 4th of July, 2009 The Cataclyst Greenhouse Project was in full effect. Chris had written and tested the final program, and we were ready for a small opening for friends and family. The project was powered up, and the structure illuminated. It was a thing of beauty, as the breeze gently moved the plastic, the lights would respond. As we moved about the space, the lights responded and interacted. The reactions of the sensors emoted a controlled chaos. The pulsing ticks of the relays created a harmony shared by the unity of the space, the piece and the viewer were one. But as the piece enveloped the human viewer, it also enveloped the wind, and in so doing, spoke for the wind, and shone for the wind. You could SEE the wind sing. I shot over an hour of documentary footage of the piece, and am currently in the process of editing the entire seven months of photos, notes, and videos into a presentable video that will encapsulate the project. In the mean time, I will be presenting short clips, as well as responses to the piece on this website for all to enjoy.

Starting of course with the destruction…

What took months to construct, came down in a mere two and a half hours, which is now condensed into four minutes…

Enjoy.

On May 16th, 2009, the Cataclyst Greenhouse Project, was all but running, when a horrible wind storm struck the village of Alfred New York. The 50×50x15 foot structure was literally picked up of the ground and moved around the courtyard where it was constructed, breaking several neon tubes. The structure had stood for over a month at that point and this was the first and only time anything of the sort had happened. The scheduled opening was quickly saved by a hurried set-up of an intricate neon sequence in an adjacent hallway, where spectators could catch a view of the structure outdoors whipping in the wind.
We completely disassembled all of the neon, and sensors, and were back to the drawing board. I decided that hanging the neon would keep it safer from the elements, and so the new version of the project was re-wired, and all of the neon was reinstalled a foot below the ceiling of he structure.

This is the PVC Bending Unit that we developed

MATERIALS

• 8 Fixed Wheel Casters
• 20 feet of 2×4
• 2 electric heat guns
• 4 feet of aluminum flashing
• 1 variable speed motor
• 2 hinges
• 1 door pull
• 1 pulley
• 1 belt

All of the bends are finished

All of the Triangles are assembled, and we have begun to construct the quarters of the structure with zip ties and industrial shrink wrap.

To be carried down crest and through valley, to gaze into the sand of time beneath would be self revealing. The crystalline holds a truth known only to everything. I peer through it. I misuse my senses. I can see the future through the past but only with eyes of the present. So work with me, or against me, but work for yourselves in this discovery. Engage as I have created for us all. Engage, For the end may be closer than we can feel. Exercise to sense the impending. Obliterate the world you seek, or find an obliterated world.

After a lot of process development, we decided to go with air to pressurize the tubes. We found that around 10 psi, the tube will not kink. So far after one day of bending, we have 3 triangles completed. We hope to have an entire quarter completed by this friday.

The sequencer is going to cost a whopping 4000 dollars, please, anything helps, click this button and donate anything at all to help me complete this project. The pvc construction is already under way, I would hate to comprimise the project now. With a little help from a lot of places, this dream of mine can come to fruition.

Here is the estimate e-mail:

The input modules I-7041D have 14 inputs, these will interface directly with the switches in your sensors. We will need three of these.
The output modules I-7043D have 16 outputs, and will interface directly with the neon power supplies. We will need three of them.
Both of these types communicate via RS485, so we will also need a converter to USB. I found one elsewhere on the same website.

Prices
3 input modules @150 each ………… $450
3 output modules @150 each ………. $450
1 USB adapter @100 ………………….$100
1 12 volts power supply ………………. $10
40 neon supplies 5k30C @35.86 …. $1434.40

40 PIR sensors @8.96…………………..$358.40

Laptop (with Win 98 or XP or Vista and USB port) – you provide
Software development to run it all – $1,000. The laptop monitor will also display exactly what the neon is doing, in real time.
Wiring diagrams for everything will be included.

I would like to expand the description of this whole approach. I have found some acquisition modules which have 64 channels, one for input and one for output. The big disadvantage is having to run 80 channels worth of wiring to a single location. In contrast, the proposed modules can be located like hubs, near the associated channels, and only two pairs of wires will tie these hubs together. Since we are making exactly zero $ on these, and they are at your end of the country anyway, I would like to ask that you get them yourself (I will provide the exact model numbers), and then loan it to us for the software testing. I have picked the modules with LED display right on the units. Although $10 more expensive, this is absolutely great, because now we do not need to build anything for testing the software. It will also help you during installation and debugging.

Pipe ordered! Sequencer estimate on the way! Approval for courtyard! 1/18 scale mockup done!

The sequencer will control 40 channels and 40 control voltages, one for each channel, when a control voltage is recieved to a channel, I want that channel to illuminate for 1/2 second, and then the two channels on either side of that one will immuminate for roughly 1/2 second, then two channels two spaces from the point of origin in both directions will illuminate for 1/2 second, then the two chanels 3 spaces from the point of origin, then 4 spaces, and so on, until the pattern reaches the point of origin.
If multiple sensors are tripped, and if this is possible, I would like the process to be additive, meaning that every time a new sensor is tripped, it does not interfere with the previous sequence, and only when the signal has hit every channel will it stop.

Good news, ARGUS grant application has been approved for 750 dollars. The first step is to complete the smallscale mock up and begin creating test projects with arduino, neon, and video.

This is the full version of the Argus Application

woot

FALL 08

• Write ARGUS proposal for greenhouse
• 3D Model the greenhouse
• Map out video and light arrangement
• Acquire necessary electronics
• Learn and create test projects with the electronics