1. Recognizable Earthly Art ? Carlo H. Séquin EECS Computer Science Division University of California, Berkeley

2. The Question Which of the artworks produced by the human race might be recognizable as “ART” by some future visiting foreign intelligences ?

3. Is It Art ?

4. Sometimes “art” is indistinguishable from its surroundings

5. Is this “Art” -- Is this Special” ? u YES – if it was done by your own child !

6. Another “Special” Drawing u Medhia Mahmood, age 5, Gainesville, VA

7. Why are These Paintings “Special” ?

8. Is This “Special” ? u They were painted by an Elephant in Thailand

9. Is This “Special” ? u YES – painted by a robot

10. “Robotic Action Painter” u and its inventor / designer: Leonel Moura u studio@leonelmoura.com

11. u Painting by “Robotic Action Painter”

12. Is This “Special” ? u YES – painted by someone famous u YES ! – done by Jackson Pollock

13. Is this also “Special” ? u Perhaps … – believed to be done by Pollock

14. Is This “Special” ? u NO – just a piece of a lab coat u Not really! – done by an on-line applet !

15. Pollock Generator u http://a.parsons.edu/~can/code/intro.html

16. Now also as an iPhone Applet

17. Importance of Background Information u Background Knowledge is often the only reason why something is considered to be – “art” – or valuable – or at least “special” But what if no such information is available ? Then the artwork / artifact has to speak for itself …

18. Little Background Available u True for our most ancient known art pieces

20. Cave Paintings 30’000 years old

21. Little Background Available u True for our most ancient known art pieces 25’000 years old Discovered 1908

22. Is This Something Special ? u Archeologists debate whether this modified stone was meant to represent a woman. u Was there a conscious mind at work to shape this stone into a tool ? 300’000 years old

23. SCIENCE VOL 323, Feb. 6, 2009 77’000 years old

24. Our Question -- Again Which of the artworks produced by the human race might be recognizable as “ART” to some future visiting foreign intelligences ? By looking back we can gain some insights of what it might be like for future intelligences to puzzle over artifacts left by today’s civilization. First of all, our “art” must be able to survive!

25. Whirled White Web Breckenridge 2003

26. 12:40 pm -- 42° F

27. 12:41 pm -- 42° F

28. 100’000 Year Doomsday Scenarios u Some virus wipes out almost all of mankind ( as in George R. Stewart’s “Earth abides”). Civilization, as we know it, disappears. u Giant volcanic eruption covers everything with many meters of ash. u Some man-made stupidity destroys our habitat.

29. Some Things That Will NOT Survive: u Magnetic Tapes u CDs and DVDs u Books and Journals u Unprotected Paintings Today’s New-Media Art & Installations

30. More Stuff that Will Not Survive:

31. 100’000 Years in the Future u Only inorganic materials survive u All museums have caved in u Most written / printed information is lost u Tapes, CDs, DVD’s are all unreadable u No background information available ! What objects can speak for themselves ?

32. Among the Artifacts that Do Survive, What Makes an Object “Special”? u It must stand out from its surroundings

33. Something that Stands Out u Big stone structures in a flat landscape

34. Nothing Special... u Just some dirty sidewalk with typical 20th century junk

35. A Precious Instrument … …with a sensible cover (Joseph Beuys: Center Piece)

36. Among the Artifacts that Do Survive, What Makes an Object “Special”? u It must stand out from its surroundings u Should not look “accidental”

37. “Unfinished Construction Site” u Another installation by Joseph Beuys

38. A Manufacturing Mishap ?

39. Why could the walls not be made straight ? Richard Serra

40. Richard Serra: Torqued Ellipses

41. Among the Artifacts that Do Survive, What Makes an Object “Special”? u It must stand out from its surroundings u Should not look “accidental” u Should exhibit a plan, conscious thought

42. Clearly a Special Design u Nazca Lines in Peru

44. Art or Wallpaper ? Drawings by Sol LeWitt

45. Among the Artifacts that Do Survive, What Makes an Object “Special”? u It must stand out from its surroundings u Should not look “accidental” u Should exhibits planning, conscious thought u Appears to require some special skills

46. How Did They Build This ? Only a few thousand years ago, and we already have trouble figuring out how it was done

47. Anybody could do this … Richard Serrra: Lead Piece, 1968

48. How Did They Build This ?

49. Among the Artifacts that Do Survive, What Makes an Object “Special”? u It must stand out from its surroundings u Should not look “accidental” u Should exhibits planning, conscious thought u Appears to require some special skills u Other...

50. Missing Background Information... will lead to misinterpretations !

51. Discovered in NYC Celebration of... ?

52. And what might this be ? Celebrating the end of the war with the Indians ?

53. ??? u Some special Antenna from the Electronic Century ?

54. Another Mysterious Object u Propeller for motor boat ? u Grinder head ? u Galactic force concentrator ?

55. Hyperbolic Hexagon II, Bronze u Installed Feb. 27, 2009 CITRIS headquarter reception area, U.C. Berkeley. A collaboration between: u Brent Collins (sculptor), u Steve Reinmuth (craftsman), u Carlo Séquin (computer scientist).

56. Brent Collins: Hyperbolic Hexagon II

57. Brent Collins: Stacked Saddles

58. Scherk’s 2 nd Minimal Surface Normal “biped” saddles Generalization to higher-order saddles (monkey saddle) “Scherk Tower”

59. Hyperbolic Hexagon by B. Collins u 6 saddles in a ring u 6 holes passing through symmetry plane at ±45º u = “wound up” 6-story Scherk tower u Discussion: What if … l we added more stories ? l or introduced a twist before closing the ring ?

60. Closing the Loop straight or twisted “Scherk Tower”“Scherk-Collins Toroids”

61. Brent Collins’ Prototyping Process Armature for the Hyperbolic Heptagon Mockup for the Saddle Trefoil Time-consuming ! (1-3 weeks)

62. Sculpture Generator 1, GUI

63. V-art Virtual Glass Scherk Tower with Monkey Saddles (Radiance 40 hours) Jane Yen

64. Collins’ Fabrication Process Example: Vox Solis Layered laminated main shape Wood master pattern for sculpture

65. Slices through Minimal Trefoil 50%10%23%30% 45%5%20%27% 35%2%15%25%

66. u One thick slice thru sculpture, from which Brent can cut boards and assemble a rough shape. u Traces represent: top and bottom, as well as cuts at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 of one board. Profiled Slice through Heptoroid

67. Emergence of the Heptoroid (1) Assembly of the precut boards

68. Emergence of the Heptoroid (2) Forming a continuous smooth edge

69. Emergence of the Heptoroid (3) Smoothing the whole surface

70. The Finished Heptoroid u at Fermi Lab Art Gallery (1998).

71. Construction Photos from Steve Reinmuth Bronze Studio Eugene, Oregon

72. The Master Mold for Hyperbolic Hexagon II

73. A Clean Wax Copy

74. Adding Sprues and Runners

75. First Sprues and Runners Added

76. Details of Sprues and Runners

77. Into the Kiln – Burning out the Wax

78. Bronze Pour

79. Polish and Patina

80. Hyperbolic Hexagon II at CITRIS, 2/27/09

81. Will this survive ? Will it be recognizable as something special ? u Yes... if it is not turned into bullets for some future war! or will be used as a source of copper … Helaman Ferguson: Work in stone !

82. Helaman Ferguson: Two Canoes

83. Keizo Ushio: Oushi Zokei, Ono City 2004

84. Q U E S T I O N S ?

85. Helaman Ferguson: Two Canoes u Original model by Helaman Ferguson, 1995

86. Helaman Ferguson: Two Canoes u How it was assembled

87. ISAMA, San Sebastian 1999 Keizo Ushio and his “OUSHI ZOKEI”

88. Schematic Model of 2-Link Torus 2 knife blades rotate through 360 degrees as they sweep once around the torus ring 360°