What inspires you? Posted on January 8, 2014 (December 1, 2019) by Wes Modes This is an easier list to make. Everything inspires me, or seems to. Everything from peeling paint to artificial intelligence, the magic sauce that keeps us in this world….
What are you afraid of? Posted on January 8, 2014 (December 1, 2019) by Wes Modes A huge list of things you can bring up embarrassingly at a party or to which you can attribute whatever anti-social behavior I exhibit. …
Using the Network to Root Out “The Other” Posted on January 6, 2014 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Those who control the protocols, have a full picture of our aggregate network and the connections we share – not just one of us, not just me or you, but all of us. How do we make art in that context?…
Fun-A-Day 2014 Posted on January 4, 2014 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes As I did last year and the year before that, I’m participating in Fun-A-Day, a daily art challenge during the month of January originally created by Nick Lally of the Art Clash Collective in Baltimore in 2004. Now Fun-A-Day is a worldwide phenomena….
Robert Henke’s Fragile Territories Posted on December 22, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Have I shared this Robert Henke piece with you in the last few days? I can’t take my eyes off of it. I want to watch it on loop until,…
FOMOphobia: An Analysis Posted on December 16, 2013 (December 1, 2019) by Wes Modes FOMOphobia, an installation at the Digital Art Research Center at UC Santa Cruz as part of the Digital Arts and New Media Fall Open Studios, attempted to embody the social media burden of the artist….
Saddest. Songs. Ever. Posted on October 27, 2013 (November 20, 2023) by Wes Modes Here is a devastating list of the saddest songs ever. Contributed by friends and acquaintances. This would be the perfect accompaniment if you were hosting a Cry Party….
FOMOphobia: An Insistent Social Networking Anxiety Monitor Posted on October 12, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes FOMOphobia is a network-connected installation that immerses the viewer in a visualization of the artist’s real-time social networking anxiety, sounding alarms and keeping count of unhandled content….
Night Ride Radio Digital Preservation Posted on August 16, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes This is a grant I recently applied for, a preservation grant for the 230 hour archive of Night Ride. Project Goal I produced a radio show on Santa Cruz public…
Decision-Maker Revisited Posted on June 13, 2013 (October 10, 2020) by Wes Modes How could you gather and represent the quantity of data the Decision-Maker requires? When I started to put everything together it looks a good bit like a control module from Cape Canaveral circa 1970, which of course has its own charming aesthetic, but not was I was originally thinking of….
Radio City Posted on June 12, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Years ago, I used to comb through a local sign graveyard, the lot where some sign company took all of their decommissioned signs and dumped them. One of the best finds was an old Radio Shack sign….
The Wheel of Chaos Posted on June 12, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes The Wheel of Chaos doesn’t fuck around. The idea is to introduce a level of chaos to your life from which there is no return. After spinning the wheel, your life will be inexorably changed in some way….
Social Networking Guilt Made Manifest Posted on June 11, 2013 (October 10, 2020) by Wes Modes To me, it looked like my guilt made manifest. Together, they would create an audio-visual manifestation of modern communication angst, an insistent cacophony of social networking….
Night Ride Storyteller Project Proposal Posted on May 15, 2013 (July 14, 2024) by Wes Modes The Night Ride Storyteller Project is a robotic radio producer that uses heuristic algorithms to create an aural collage of web-contributed personal stories and music….
Wes doesn’t need to nail down a cloud Posted on April 3, 2013 (November 18, 2019) by Wes Modes It can just move on like a bubble or a cloud or whatever, and I don’t feel like I need to nail down a cloud, but if I want to capture and create to mmmmake a real life reflection of that idea, then the next step is get to work…
29 Amazing Contemporary Artists Whose Work I Crush On Posted on March 20, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes A ongoing list of artists from whom I derive inspiration….
Magical Hobbit Installations Posted on March 11, 2013 (November 20, 2023) by Wes Modes A surprising little breakfast nook constructed hobbit-style in a wood….
Digital Fun-a-Day Big Ideas Posted on February 26, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes This year for art-a-day, I wanted to spill out big ideas, art projects that have been scratching at the edges of my consciousness for a long time….
Rad Artists Posted on February 23, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I imagined a small collective with people who feel an affinity toward each other’s work and philosophy, collaborating where needed and wanted, working together as necessary, and mutually supporting and inspiring each other….
Flaming Pneumatic Toaster Posted on February 21, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes To be clear, I am not a pyromaniac. I just like to see things burn, preferably with giant flames, roaring heat waves, and dramatic billowing smoke. So when it came time to replace the toaster, I had some ideas about the toaster I could build….
Rock Paper Whirring-Scissors-of-Death Posted on February 16, 2013 (December 1, 2019) by Wes Modes What’s not to like? Dervishly spinning arms holding razor sharp scissors, a heavy stone, and flapping piece of paper? I can see it spinning and visitors squinting and half-shielding their faces the way people do when someone is trying to smash a ball-bearing with a hammer….
