Below are a few sketches of conceptual projects I’m working on right now.
‘Sinusoidal Time Signature’ is an idea for structuring a sound composition on curved time of a sine wave instead of a fixed linear grid (i.e. 4/4, 6/8 etc). ‘Historical Overtone Series’ plots a metaphor between harmonics of sound and meme evolution/distribution. The 3D ‘overtone’ image ended up looking like a sketch I made in Montreal called ‘Matrix Topography‘. Click image to see full-res.
What happens when I have time to relax at Mom’s house over a holiday? I create some infographics based on my brother’s marathon results, of course. He supplied me with a very tidy spreadsheet that I converted to something with a little more zing. If I had been home one more day I would’ve done another version conflating the cartographic and information spaces of the marathons, a là Charles Minard’s map of Napoleon’s march on Moscow. Might have to wait for the next holiday. (I can sense your excitement). Regarding the marathon data, worthy of note is the fact that with each successive run my brother has improved his time. That’s right, pump that fist!
I just came across this painting and can’t help but keep staring at it. It’s like a workout for my eyes. Click the images to see hi-res versions.
On the drive down from Montreal I found this curious little “Field Book” on a railing at 1000 Island Bridge. It was filled with notes by what I assume to be an engineer of some sort. In the 2nd image below you can make out the heading of “Pretoria Left Bridge”, and below it “16 June 2008”. Apparently the skew to the east is 42 1/8″ or -.3 degrees. I hope that’s good for a skew test. Click the images to see a higher res version.
“It’s My Last Night In Montreal, I’m Sitting On My Balcony Playing The Harmonica. My Fingers Are Cold, Clouds Cover The Moon.”
A) Very happy with last night’s short performance of Cathedral Scan and the talk afterward. The Rustines | Lab space proved to be very cozy I think. Now I have to pack everything up, which I’m not terribly excited about. Will be home soon!
B) So I was at a really great bookstore in Outremont called “Drawn and Quarterly”, and spotted a book that I immediately decided would make a great gift for a friend. It’s called “All Known Metal Bands” and is published by the esteemed McSweeney’s. On its gothic black pages, printed in silver ink, is a list of all metal bands that have ever existed as of 2007 C.E. Around 50,000 total. Interesting to note is the fact that certain names have been used half a dozen times or more, like “Devil’s Maw”, “Succubus”, and “Black Death”. Can you imagine what would happen if “Black Death” from Pensacola FL circa 1974 met the “Black Death” from Erie PA 1994? I’m frightened to think about it.
Anyways, I went ahead and bought it. Later that day, I get word from his girlfriend: he already owns it, the bastard. So, Papa Bear, here’s a picture of the book you almost had two copies of.
C) On a brighter note, I now possess a harmonica. Last week I saw Stephen Vitiello perform with Machine Fabrik at Casa del Popolo. They were doing a version of their Box Music album, where each one gives the other a box of small objects that they then use to stitch together a sound performance. Totally cool, one of my favorite shows I’ve seen in Montreal. Anyways, at the end of the show they put out the objects for the audience to take home. The harmonica was way too cool to pass up. It should be noted that the harmonica was the only real instrument among the bunch — there were various other tchotchkes including toy telephones, balloons and Alka-Selzter.
For about a month I’ve been meaning to take pictures of the beautiful Jean Talon Market near my apartment. Yesterday, my last weekend in Montreal, was my final chance, and the weather cooperated wonderfully. People seemed to be in very high spirits, and the bright sunshine coming through the sporadic canopy really made the color of the veggies pop.
Tomorrow evening I’ll be giving a short performance of Cathedral Scan and a talk at Rustines | Lab. Then, time to get packing and head back to New York on Thursday. The most immediate concern after my arrival home: what am I going to be for Halloween?
Last weekend I took a little trip to the Ile de St. Helene to see the Biosphere, a 200-ft-tall geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller. The dome was built in 1967 for the World Expo held in Montreal, and housed the American Pavilion. Now there’s a science/environment museum inside with some cool displays, but mostly for kids.
In other news, as I write this IT’S SNOWING OUTSIDE!
Because “Starbucks Coffee” sounds too American, I suppose.
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