Michael Una

Changing to Wordpress, please update your feeds

2008-11-17T21:56:00.003-06:00

Greetings everyone. If you happen to subscribe to this blog via RSS, please click here and grab the new RSS. The current one will start collecting dust pretty soon. If you're reading this on the blog's page itself, please drop me a line and let me know because I swear I fixed all the redirects so that you'll be shunted to the new page.

Beep-it for sale!

2008-11-11T14:25:00.003-06:00

Beep-it, the optical theremin synthesizer designed and built by yours truly, is now for sale at Etsy.
A short video documenting the various sounds one can obtain from this wondrous device can be seen here:

Beep-it from Michael Una on Vimeo.
If you're interested in building your own, here's the diagram. It's adapted from a design by Forrest M. Mims, with further input and help from the Circuit Master over at Getlofi.com

For those who know their way around the 555, this is half of an "Atari Punk Console," or APC as the kids call it these days. I chose to go with the single oscillator because it offers more stable control. The values in the circuit have been adjusted to obtain maximum useable range.
For those in Chicago, I will have multiple Beep-its available to demo and sell at this weekend's Deadline Projects art show:

Octophonopod recap

2008-11-02T19:51:00.007-06:00

This post serves to collect various iterations of my "Octophonopod" piece in one place.

The first iteration debuted at ArtXposium in 2007. It consists of eight speakers and an accompanying audio-reactive LED display housed within eight paper lanterns. The speakers are fed by four CD players, i.e, eight mono channels of sound run through four car stereo amplifiers. I composed an eight-channel sound piece to run through the system, generating light and sounds in a calming, ambient fashion.

Here's a short video documenting the creation and final installation:

A few months later, I showed it again at Motion Graphics Festival Chicago 2008. Adapting to the installation space, I spread the "pods" out around the room. The result was a much more ambient and directional sound experience, but the sea-creaturesque quaities were obscured.

Octophonopod at MGFest 2008 from Michael Una on Vimeo.

For the past year, I've been chipping away at miniaturizing this piece to fit two cubic feet. The task has required a completely new approach, using a microcontroller to drive flash memory modules and miniature amplifiers and speakers. I've made some breakthroughs lately and am now ready to produce the piece (as soon as I find the time).

Studio panorama

2008-10-12T20:56:00.004-05:00

I took some time to reorganize my studio and in the process I've cleared out my brain of all the half-finished ideas that were laying around.

The result:

Yes, that's what it looks like when it's organized. I like bright, stimulating encrustation.

Deadline projects show 11/15/08

2008-10-08T14:28:00.001-05:00

Analyzing bookmark tags

2008-10-08T12:43:00.005-05:00

I've been using the bookmarking tool Del.icio.us for a few years now, and today I dug through some of the tags I've been using. Some interesting patterns arise, especially in examining the language I use to describe things on the internet.

Here's my tag cloud:

Awesome- Anything I find online that could be described as "awesome" gets filed here. A few highlights:

NOTCOT at GLOW: EX-SE-08 Shih Chieh Huang from Jean Aw on Vimeo.

Another tag I use is buildme, which is used for filing away things that I want to build or incorporate into a project, or someone else's project that I want to crib from. Some examples:

Projectstuff has links to raw materials and suppliers for the more rare or esoteric items that I might want to use some day.

Then I have a Wishlist, which I refer to around my birthday and Christmas when people ask me what I want. It's mostly books, dvds and t-shirts, with the occasional odd electronic item.

What does it all mean? I guess it's interesting to see all of my interest laid out in such a specific way. There are a few personal or social items in there, but the majority of the bookmarks pertain to my art/music interests and ideas. It makes me want to somehow gather them all into a digital sketchbook of sorts, then publish it into some kind of coffee table book, just for me.

Show 9/19-21: ArtXposium

2008-09-10T11:48:00.003-05:00

From Sept. 19-21 I'll be participating in ArtXposium, a 3-day multimedia art experience with more than 80 participating artists. Local, national and international talent will come together from September 19th to the 21st to display a variety of art work ranging from traditional painting, sculpture, and photography to interactive, multimedia, and sound installations. I'll be showing two old-but-good pieces there: Small on the outside, infinite on the inside
and This is for you

MAKE Article published

2008-09-10T11:29:00.001-05:00

I recommend that anyone interested in music, doing things yourself, and taking control of your reality pick up this month's copy of MAKE magazine. And if you like it, get a subscription- it's way cheaper.

My article "Drumbot Activate!" is contained within this new issue. In it, you'll find informative text and images that outline an easy-to-construct MIDI-controlled robot drummer.

It's based on the HighlyLiquid MIDI Decoder kit, with some simple additional parts.

A quick demonstration video:

Robot drummer from Michael Una on Vimeo

It was my goal this year to write an article for MAKE, and I'm a little surprised how quickly it happened. I expected to toil in obscurity for a lot longer.

*Edit*
Some people have written me asking for a diagram as to how to hook up the solenoids or a similar device. Here you go:

MAKE reader Preston and I were just discussing one related problem-solving issue- namely, the relays can sometimes become "sticky" when activated and don't release the solenoid like they should due to a initial spike in current when the relay is tripped.
This problem can be attenuated by putting a resistor in series with the solenoid. Preston was able to stop the "sticking" with a 470-ohm resistor, but that was a little too harsh for the solenoid. It's sounding like the right range would be somewhere between 1 and 100 ohms. If anyone encounters that same problem and finds a better solution, let me know.
One other issue: If your solenoids aren't pulling as much as they should be, remove a bit of the spring and shorten the amount of rod sticking out of the sleeve. Sometimes the solenoid's sleeve needs a little more metal to grab onto when the EM field is activated to properly actuate. An extra cm or so should do it.
If anyone has any issues getting this project together, please feel free to write me at this blog or contact me directly via email: michael@una-love.com
Happy soldering!

Reserach

2008-09-08T13:52:00.002-05:00

I picked up an Arduino Diecemila last week and I've been playing around with it, hoping to use it in future art installations. Some nifty implementations I've discovered along the way:

Working on it...

2008-08-07T20:47:00.003-05:00

It has been pointed out that this website is experiencing problems, which may cause alerts from your antivirus or browser saying that this is a "possible attack site." I am aware of the problem and think it's fixed (fingers crossed). I'm also working on a separate publishing/formatting issue, so my apologies if this blog shows up in your RSS multiple times. I'm hoping to resolve things tonight. In the meantime, please enjoy these images:

Video from We Are Hacks performance in NYC

2008-07-29T14:28:00.005-05:00

On July 18th I had the pleasure of performing at the last-ever HOPE conference in New York City. Peter Kirn of createdigitalmusic.com had a great preview writeup before the show, and the audiovisual acts did not disappoint. Collin Mel from MAKE Magazine's blog posted some video of my performance, which was augmented by visuals from Vade (Anton Marini) and Mary Ann Bene. You can see me "scratching" some audiotape on a flat panel by running a tape head over it. Music @ the Last HOPE from Collin Cunningham on Vimeo. The entire archive of performers (including Animal Style, some houseplants, and other awesomeness) can be found here, the filenames all start with "DMN" for Digital Music Night.

Upcoming show

2008-07-07T18:02:00.000-05:00

The show will be called Shadows, tracks and traces When: Opening reception August 2. Show closes August 31. Where: Second Bedroom Gallery, 3216 Morgan Street Apt. 4R Chicago Description: Shadows, tracks and traces seeks to make people aware of the omnipresent, ambient surveillance going on around us all the time by audiovisually representing the evidence we leave as we move through infospace. As the viewer enters the room, they come within the recording field of a video camera and a microphone. An automated system records and processes the audiovisual data generated within the room and presents it back to the viewer in a dissociated, fragmented stream coming from all directions. This piecemeal representation of data is a metaphor for the informational wake we leave as we move about the planet. Credit card receipts, brief appearances on surveillance cameras, our picture taken by an ATM machine- all this evidence can point at the existence of a person but never gets at the heart of who we are, what we're doing, and why we're doing it. It's an incomplete, fragmented picture of us as individuals. Taken by themselves, these pieces can be interesting or novel, or even beautiful, but it's their failure to complete the picture which is most interesting. Bio: Michael Una is an audiovisual artist living in Chicago. His work investigates wave motion and rhythmic coincidence, with an eye toward complex systems interaction. I've started to install and it's looking good so far:

Magnetic fields

2008-06-04T13:35:00.000-05:00

File under inspiration.

Press

2008-05-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

Mark Weaver of Minneapolis's Daily Planet newspaper published a nice wrapup of BENT Fest, with some choice quotes from me and some of the other performers. Check it out here. He also made a nice little video to show off a device he modified during the festival: Thanks Mark.

Upcoming shows

2008-04-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. Next Wednesday, April 30th I'll I’ll be performing a live looping audio set as part of the Butterfly Social Club’s Re:Vivify Wednesday series. There will be live video, artmaking, bodywork, fortunetelling, and probably a whole lot of hip urban hippies. 9pm, 722 W. Grand, next to the Funky Buddha Lounge. Be there or be a hippy-hating Republican. The next day I'll be driving up to Minneapolis for the Midwest leg of BENT Festival. It'll be three days of circuit-tweaking excitement. I'll be exhibiting my Beat/Bleep bikes, giving a workshop on building your own Drum Robot Friday, and playing a live set on Saturday with my band Memory Selector. Local Minneapolis blog l'etoile has an interview with Memory Selector as one of their weekend event picks, which can be viewed here (at the bottom). If you're in Minneapolis or Wisconsin, I highly recommend you check it out.

Robot Drummer

2008-04-22T09:32:00.000-05:00

In preparation for my upcoming workshop at BENT Fest Minneapolis, I've been assembling and implementing the HighlyLiquid MSA-R MIDI decoder kit. A preview of the results: Robot drummer from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Zigzags

2008-04-18T14:30:00.000-05:00

Zigzag_v1 from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Excerpt from live show, 4/5 at Happy Dog Gallery

2008-04-15T10:41:00.000-05:00

Michael Una at Bigger Than Your Life from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Grid Transformatiions

2008-04-11T12:43:00.000-05:00

A sketch of a little idea I'm working on for BENT Fest video projection.
Grid interference patterns from Michael Una on Vimeo.

Electromechanical sound generation

2008-04-10T14:40:00.000-05:00

Jejunum

2008-04-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

Last night when most sane people were asleep, I was drawing this diagram of the small intestines for my clients here in LA. It turned out so pretty I thought I'd share it:

Show this Saturday

2008-04-02T14:53:00.000-05:00

For its first anniversary, arts collective Deadline Projects presents this multi-media exhibition of works tackling big issues, like space, time, religion and debt. Plus, the opening is sponsored by Goose Island! I will have one interactive piece in the show, and I'll be playing a live musical set starting at 7:30pm. More live electronic music will follow, by Moment Sound.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5th, 2008 7PM-MIDNIGHT HAPPY DOG GALLERY 1542 N. MILWAUKEE CHICAGO, IL 60622

One night only.

Bigger Than Your Life A one-night art event not to be missed: Deadline Projects's one-year anniversary show!

Deadline Projects is proud to present Bigger than Your Life, a multi-media one-night art exhibition. This time around, Deadline Projects attempts to grapple with ideas that are bigger than our brains can handle and make sense of them using installation, print, painting, photography and sculpture. We're all surrounded by things and concepts that are huge and unknowable in their entirety. The Iraq war is one example- it's so much bigger than any one person at this point, and as a single human we can have difficulty approaching the subject in a workable way. Or, technological progression- it moves so fast and touches so many parts of our lives, but the average person has very little input to direct and control it. We get caught up in these events and ideas without comprehending fully their true meaning, and the most common course of action is to ignore large parts of the problem and simply deal with what's in front of us.

Michael Una is building a radio transmitter to beam voices into space, ensuring that some part of the show's audience lives on forever in the vast heart of the universe. Sarah Perez takes on Debt – something that usually falls outside of our understanding in its ever expanding and seemingly unconquerable nature by making a sculpture that uses her own money -literally. Gretel Garcia and Una will be collaborating to create an installation made out of multiple digital clocks that will be programmed to flash 12:00 simultaneously – reminding us that time is always at our back. Painter nikki hollander puts pop culture under her scope and uses the forum of the art gallery to confront the public with the unavoidable eye of paparazzi. Others like Shawn Stucky and Marc Salha will be tackling issues of politics and religion in prints and paintings. * Image credit, Clockwise from upper left: Postcard design by Stephen Shapiro, screenprint by Shawn Stucky, illustration by Damien James, sculpture by Sarah Perez.

Participating Artists:

Arielle Bielak Gretel Garcia nikki hollander Damien James Blake Parish Lewis Sarah Perez

Holly Sabin Marc Salha Stephen Shapiro Shawn Stucky Kyra Termini Michael Una

Musical performances by www.momentsound.com

Deadline Projects is proud to announce that its anniversary show is sponsored by Chicago's own Goose Island Beer Company! We thank them for their support of the local arts community.

Seven-pointed star

2008-03-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

I drew this shape to guide the layout of some LEDs for a sound-reactive wearable visual display, and the shapes looked nice all by themselves: More in-progress shots to come.

Cyclical AC on/off device

2008-03-21T16:19:00.000-05:00

I just completed this little device and it's working pretty well. It switches incoming AC power on and off in a cyclical pattern, about 1.5 times per second. A battery powers a small worm-gear motor, which pushes a levered switch with its' eccentric cylinder. The switch completes the AC circuit. Simple, I know, but I get kind of nervous when working with AC and I wanted this to be safe and effective. The whole thing is contained in a plastic box, so no chance of accidental contact. This will be a key part in a project for the upcoming Deadline Projects show, Bigger Than Your Life.

SYNC Fest pics and video

2008-03-18T15:30:00.001-05:00

SYNC Fest was probably one of the most awesome experiences of my life- the people were awesome, my set was near-perfect, and it looked and sounded incredible. The venue was excellent as well. It took place at the University of Michigan's Duderstadt Center, which houses all kinds of awesome computer-based artmaking labs: The opening acts were both pretty amazing, too. The University of Michigan's Digital Music Ensemble did an interpretation of Stockhausen's String Quartet for Helicopters. Four people played string instruments, while four remote-control helicopter pilots tried not to kill anyone, and some tech folks processed the audio and video live. It was pretty amazing: Bill Van Loo and J. Schnable kicked out the smooth ambient grooves, with some excellent video to match. I headlined the evening, apparently: And, as I was packing up my gear, they handed me a DVD of my performance. It's pretty amazing- I had no idea it was going to look this good. I highly recommend that you watch the video in full-screen and with either headphones or decent speakers that reproduce bass:
Michael Una performing at SYNC Fest 08 from Michael Una on Vimeo. Big thanks to Heather Konzman, who orchestrated an most excellent evening.