cultural explorations
Based on a poster recalled from my childhood Sunday school that read, "I shall never rest, until my good is better and my better best" this piece confronts the endless learning that faces anyone trying to pursue higher goals.
Using a reclaimed cardboard alphabet found in an abandoned Illinois elementary school, I have created a set of eight (a coded binary reference) finned gears that are powered through autonomous analog BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics) circuits.
Each BEAM circuit, is 'fed' via a photo voltaic cell that collects light from its immediate surroundings, (making them an interesting metaphor for the collection and re-dispensing of learned information).
As the capacitor in each circuit fills, it is triggered and releases power to a small motor, which turns the attached gear. The gears move a fraction at a time and perhaps only a few times a day, depending on the light source.
The end result is a piece of art that is constantly changing, based on it's surroundings - and just as intellectual growth does - it becomes stagnant in the dark.
