Gray(ish) Tree Frog, 2018

Working on a tree frog. I've got my oscilloscope probe connected to its speaker wire so I can "see" the sound that he makes. (The creaking chair is me, not the frog...) The frog's call is entirely generated by the analog electronic circuit that you see on the front of the painting - like an electronic instrument. Below is the finished piece, "Gray(ish) Tree Frog," 2018. Watercolor and analog electronics on paper.

Above: different views of the frog's call using my oscilloscope. The differences that you see are consequent of the time and/or voltage interval that I used to adjust the display (like focusing in and out of sound). In other words, they're all the same signal, just different ways of looking at it.

The power of symmetry

The power of symmetry as applied to wires in an Internet service provider's warehouse. Digital photo collage, 2018. Looks like a Grotjahn painting

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Several other games with photo collage symmetry, including intriguing comparisons to Pacific Northwest art and a self-portrait of Leigh Bowery

The Electrical Engineer

The Electrical Engineer, 2018. Watercolor on joined paper, 30" x 33"

Art has never been more important

Humans invent tools that invent new humans. While this dynamic has shaped civilization for centuries, the invention of artificial intelligence is forcing a radical shift in consciousness. Thinking machines are inventing the new human mind. For the first time in recorded history, our inventions are invading the very fiber of our being. Machines are re-scripting the story of life, biologically and psychologically. We are no longer the children of nature. Together with our machines, we are re-inventing nature; and Frankenstein promises to re-invent us in return. History will look back on this time as a definitive break in the archetypal canon, but with what understanding? If technology advances without interruption, our time will mark a period of tremendous enlightenment. If technology is interrupted, our time will be mythological and truly unbelievable. The legacy of our civilization is sublimating into fragile machine memory. It has never been more important to record who we are now. 

Kelly Heaton, January 2018

Bluebird with cricket

Video documentation of "Bluebird with cricket," 2018. Watercolor and analog electronics on paper, 15" x 15" x 1.5"

Note that the breadboard visible in the video is unrelated to the piece - I am just using it as a convenient source of 12V DC. The other circuits in the breadboard are in-development for other works of art.

Bluebird with cricket, 2018. Watercolor and analog electronics on paper, 15" x 15" x 1.5"

The colors of this photograph are truer than the video, but still not as vibrant as the actual work. I used cobalt and manganese blue, both of which have such an electric quality.

Bluebird

Bluebird from a work in progress, 2018. Watercolor and pencil on paper

The Nagual

The Nagual, 2018. Watercolor sketch on paper

I've recently read seven of Carlos Castenada's books (about to start book eight). They're packed full of content for artists, especially Don Juan's concept of "seeing" and the nagual (as contrasted with the tonal). This image makes me think of Don Genaro and the miraculous dreaming stunts that he performed to try to awaken thick-headed Carlos. Genaro was a live wire to be sure.

Hawk got its own cry

Hawk got its own cry, 2018. Analog electronics and watercolor on paper, 11" x 15". I've been looking back at The Parallel Series (2012), and I've got some unfinished ideas that I plan to work with in 2018... hence this little study. The sound made by the hawk comes from the simple analog electronic circuit that its "holding." (Turn your sound on.) #contemporaryart #electronic #circuit#nature #watercolor