Final Project: Cymatics

For this final Project we chose to extend on project one in which we were working with Non-Newtonian fluid (Corn Starch and water) and also water this time. We will see the different forms, patterns and organic shapes that emerge. But only this Time we actually have a sound generator instead of just playing music with a lot of bass. I also tried using a max patcher that tracked light signature in the movement of the corn starch but was too successful because the cornstarch moved to slow so the camera really didn't catch the movement much.

Materials Used:

Max patcher used to generate different types of sound frequencies and tones

project #1

This project I wanted to work with Cymatics; which means the study of visible vibration and sound. For this project I worked with Cornstarch and water put on top of a speaker with music playing and pay attention to the patterns and organic shapes that emerge.

Project Plan

For this project I will need the following materials

A waterproof Speaker
A Guitar amplifier
Wire Stripper
Crocodile Clips
Speaker Wires
A Tone Generator
Amplifier Wire

This project is working with Cymatics, which means the study of visible sound and visible vibration. By transmitting sound waves through any sort of medium, we are able to see different patterns emerging. If you mix cornflour and water (Oobleck), you obtain a non-Newtonian fluid. A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid whose fluid properties change with the pressure applied. It basically changes its state according to pressure. For example, if compressed, the fluid acts as a solid. But it acts as a liquid if something light weight is dropped onto it. It's viscosity also depends on the force applied to the liquid or how fast an object is moving through the liquid. Not all non-Newtonian Fluids behave in the same way when stress is applied -- some become more solid, others more fluid. Some non-Newtonian fluids react as a result of the amount of stress applied, while others react as a result of the length of time that stress is applied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zoTKXXNQIU

Reading response #4 AI & Cybernetics

After reading the Pangaro’s website I understand why systems and cybernetics would be mistaken as artificial intelligence because systems can sometimes deal with organic components, and they both can have intelligent parts or machines. The difference between the two is Artificial Intelligence is trying to understand the world as it is and came about from the desire to make computers smart while cybernetics is more concerned on its function or the process, trying to complete a goal or gather feedback.

Reading response #3

As defined by this article a complex system needs two or more components to be complex. Not everything is complex because it has a lot of parts. Its is complex because of its interactions and relationship between eachother. It has many parts that, through interactions at the local level, is able to self-organize into structures that can then be characterized as emergent of the system as a whole. The components are self governed and is not controlled. Complexity is used in art a lot. Emergence are patterns and interactions and new things emerge everyday as we all know 

Exercise #2

For this exercise we were asked to ‘Look for some organic or quasi-organic material or living system that can be used as a substrate for the transmission of information and thus as some sort of cybernetic control system or organic “computer”. Research the material’s properties and brainstorm ways that it can be stimulated or perturbed so that it grows, moves or otherwise changes state. Research and experiment with the material and diagram a possible cybernetic system that could be built with it. The idea I came up with inspired by my sound art class with a toy piano and graphite. For this exercise I would take the resister out of the piano and hook it up to the graphite on paper in which are connected from where the resister was from a negative and positive wire negative on one end and positive on the other. Depending on how thick or wild the graphite trail depends on the tone of the piano keys. I also thought of rapping aluminum foil around my fingers and sliding it across the graphite line that is connected to the piano to act as some sort of equalizer or to change the tones.

Reading week 3 Response

After reading the articles what I got out of it was that the way art is changing and it has become more developed and electronic. Systems and cybernetics aren’t really focused on painting or statue, but more focused on the relationships, interactions and movements of objects. It was also interesting learning about the different kinds of systems like a single feedback loop and second order, which is a cybernetic system in which participants have agency to co-create the system, so that the system is in a state of perpetual conversation. 

Exercise 1: What is a System

The class definition of a system is "A set of components that are related in some manner. A set of variables selected by an observer (Ashby, 1960)." My definition of a System is a set of components acting upon each other and working as a whole.
Part I

System #1

System #2

System #3  

System #4

System #5








































Part II

In class we went over all of the definition of the concepts of cybernetics and systems and talked about the ones we understood and didn't and clarified how they connected to a systems. One that I am most focus on would be Holism and it is "The complete, entire view of that system, emphasizing that the state of a system must be assessed in its entirety and cannot be assessed through its individual components. Dividing a system into its separate parts is considered destructive to that system and single parts within a system should not be prioritized." Instead of focusing on one part of the system, you focus on the system as a whole.

The other concept that I recognized was Feedback and it is "The flow of information back to its origin. A circular causal process in which a system’s output is returned to its input." This is more focused on System #5 that I made about how kids take information from a elder and process it. Ones you tell a kid something no matter if its good or bad, they Listen to what you said. Second they Validate the information by the seriousness of the info and situation. Then they Authorize the problem of the info and see what they did right or wrong. Then they act upon it and change what they did and then they reflect upon it all and if they do something else it would start all over. I got this Idea from a friend and stretched upon it. I don't know if this is right or not  

Readings #1

After reading the System Aesthetics article it finally gave me a clearer sense of understanding the concept of system art. The process is more focused on than the actual process and not the end result. Comparing this to like actual art and myself as the process I go through when making a piece, I always focus on the actual outcome and not the process. Artist are always under pressured to make a great piece and the outcome has to be phenomenal and no one ever worries about the process except probably the actual artist. Its pretty cool that art can be made with the focus more on the actual process instead of the end result.. I've learned a bit about System Art but I didn't know that it has been around so long, taking art history classes, you would think that they would mention these type of things.. After reading the definitions of these words in the sense of systems it makes you kind of look at these words differently and actually makes you look a lot of other things differently. System theory gave me a better understanding of the function of the system as a whole.