Shelly Farnham

See Light, Hear Light, Speak Light

shelly — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:03:04 +0000

A series of three light boxes were exhibited at the “Winter Lights: Explorations in Self-illuminated Art” art show at the Vermillion Art Gallery in Seattle.

The pieces were made of clear resin, back lit by L.E.D. light strips. The sculptural forms explore human fascination with light.

Steve the Robot H.E.Ai.D.

shelly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:13:44 +0000

Steve the Robot H.E.Ai.D.Steve the Robot. H.E.Ai.D.

Steve the Robot H.E.Ai.D.: a Large Scale Generative Music and Laser Play Space

Steve the Robot H.E.Ai.D. is a 35 foot, interactive, collaborative installation that allows people to create sound together, using video sensors to collect people’s motion and interactively generate music, voices and lasers. This was a very large scale project with about ten collaborators, funded by the Burning Man organization for installation in 2009, and which has now appeared at several events. Learn more and check out the video at http://heaid.com. I played a lead role in the project: recruiting collaborators, defining the artistic vision, project coordination, fundraising, and so forth.

The original vision was shaped by our fascination with how the process of cultural evolution has been accelerated by technology. As we integrate technology into our collaborations, these collaborations become their own persistent meta-beings comprised of both technological and collective biological parts. With Steve: The Robot H.E.Ai.D., a H.uman E.nergized Artifical i.ntelligence D.evice., we explore the idea that the next step in our human evolution is when these meta-beings wake up, become in some way self-aware, and start speaking to us, its individual nodes, within its own larger brain.

Steve the Robot. H.E.Ai.D.

H.E.Ai.D. Chandelier

shelly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:51:01 +0000

H.E.Ai.D. Chandelier

A sculptural chandelier representing the awakening consciousness of a Human Energized Artificial Intelligence Device. A component of a larger installation (Steve the Robot H.E.Ai.D.) at Burning Man 2009 that was shown at Seattle Dorkbot’s 2009 art exhibit, People Doing Strange Things with Electricity.

The H.E.Ai.D. chandelier is made of seven resin head, originally sculpted in clay and then cast into resin. The heads are lit by an array of LEDs powered by an Arduino. As people move towards the heads and around the heads, they respond to simulate awareness and interaction, illuminating those nearby.

Made in collaboration with Bryan Wilkerson. Photos by Leo Spizzirri.

H.E.Ai.D. Chandelier

Muppet Inferno

shelly — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:31:42 +0000

For Hive-mind Halloween 2008, transformed room into “Muppet Inferno” including a 30 foot evil Kermit and 5 foot frankenstein Bert and Ernie heads. Creation of Muppet Inferno was a collaborative project with the decorating crew, in particular Peter Brown (who spearheaded Bert and Ernie) and Crystal, who sewed together Kermit’s body.

Photos by Leo Spizzirri

Obama

shelly — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:47:15 +0000

Barack Obama painted on garage door prior to election. Design based on poster by Shephard Fairey.

The Electric Scrying Pool

shelly — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:04:01 +0000

photo by Eldan

“The Electric Scrying Pool” was an installation at the People Doing Strange Things with Electricity III Exhibit at 911 Media Arts Center in January of 2008.

“The Electric Scrying Pool” explores the mystical nature of technology in the modern era. As people interact with the installation, asking the scrying pool about their future, they see how their fortune melds with those around them.

The scrying pool randomly selects and mixes oracle messages, emerging from words projected onto a pool with clear resin heads. Expressions were collected from online oracles on the Internet, and then randomly combined into Pythian messages and projected using a Flash animation.

Photo by Geoffff

Inverted Disco Ball Room

shelly — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:20:53 +0000

For Hive-mind Halloween 2007, transformed main dance room into an inverted disco ball.

photos by ChrissyOne

8 Legs

shelly — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:46:49 +0000

photo by pugetive

photo by shelmac

“8 Legs” was a Bridge Motel installation created in collaboration with Kathy Kim. The Bridge Motel project invited artists to transform different rooms of a motel the week prior to it being condemned for tear down.

“8 Legs” was an Interactive Installation exploring the dichotomy of the victim and prey in social webs. The entire motel room was transformed into a 3-D web maze using PVC and string. The participants entered a tangled web where they found themselves caught in the tension of a tightly interwoven structure. Observers could watch the prey struggling with the maze through peep holes in the motel room’s window.

Transformation Station

shelly — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 04:27:23 +0000

For Burning Man 2007, we converted a photogoraphy light booth into a super hero transformation station. Much like a phone booth, when people stepped inside, they were transformed into super heros.

A “controller”, from the outside, had the capacity to interact with the person on the inside. They could speak to the transformee through a microphone, and see him or her through a camera. Through switches, they could turn on music, a smoke machine, and lighting effects including lasers, a strobe light, and a black light. In this way, the controller guided the transformee through the experience of transformation into a super hero.

Martian Pin Up Girls

shelly — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:30:39 +0000

Created two 10′ x 4′ Martian pin up girls on a bus. Designed the pin up girls on the request of the bus owner to look like “sexy alien robot Martian pin up girls”. Painting assisted by Kathy Kim, Jeff Larson, and Brianna.

Bevin and Huck

shelly — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:14:33 +0000

3′ x 6′ Oil on plexiglass

Created as part of “Friends as Super Heros” series

Friends as Super Heros

shelly — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 21:23:40 +0000

As an installation at Burning Man 2006, I painted a series of portraits of friends dressed as superheros. These images were painted on 3 x 6 plexiglass and then placed standing in a semi-circle. This arrangement was to encourage people to walk amongst the superheros, a sort of hall of fame except any person, by virtue of standing amongst the superheros, becomes a superhero him or herself.