Craft & Design

Build a machine out of Lego that takes Lego soccer balls from an input hopper to an output hopper at a minimum rate of one per second by any means you can devise. Define a standard interface for this kind of machine so that the output of one will reliably feed the input of the next. Now invite hundreds of Lego fanatics to use their imagination to build modules of all different sizes and types to meet this standard – then connect them all end to end to make the biggest Rube Goldberg contraption in history. Thanks Steve! Link.

The Corporate fallout Detector scans barcodes off of consumer products, and makes a clicking noise based on the environmental or ethical record (selectable via the “sensitivity” switch) of the manufacturer. It explores issues of corporate accountability and individual choice. Due to increasingly complex global supply chains, a single product we buy may contain parts made by various companies all over the world. Link.

Sensors embedded in a glove monitor the heart and hand sweat glands of a sleeping person to record emotional arousals provoked by the brain during dreaming periods. The resulting records – hypnograms – are 3D drawings that the user may learn to interpret and use as introspection tools over time. [via] Link.

I really like this, it’s all the parts of a user interface suspended in a box by strings like a school project. This example is Photoshop, I think it would be neat to do all the applications most of us use and have it in a gallery. Thanks EsNetc! Link.

On June 14, sixspace will experience an invasion with RUBIKCUBISM – a logical exhibition by French artist Invader featuring mosaics, video installation, and both small and large-scale sculptures. For the past five years, Invader has conducted worldwide “invasions” with custom site-specific mosaic pieces based on the 1978 video game “Space Invaders” created by Toshiro Nishikado. Sean from Sixspace sent us this photo
just for Make readers! Link.

Great art project on display in NYC- The goal is to stimulate users to rethink spending patterns, view consumption with a different perspective, and explore issues of material possessions and consumption. The vending machine, not only supports the function of an automated, self-contained system for swapping, but also frames the interaction in the problematic cultural context which it comments, insinuating notions of the immediacy, instant-gratification, and convenience, values often associated with vending machines. [via] Link.