Music Box Controller Posted on February 15, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes It often happens that we need an interesting and autonomous way to control a device. One of the most impressive analog controllers was invented in Iraq in the 9th century….
Interesting Gates Posted on February 13, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I love gates. And trellises and porches and stoops and steps and other architectural transition elements. When we put in the posts for the lower gate at the Redwood House, I wanted to design a transitional arch that would be both beautiful and unique….
Deliciously Disordered Collections Posted on February 12, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I have a weakness for collections of things. It is some perfect intersection of my desires to find a use for everything, to organize things, and to horde sources of plenty for times when there is scarcity….
Counterfeit Concrete Posted on February 11, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Wait, what? Why again is there a culturally and historically significant object at the back of a parking lot of a generic office building in Silicon Valley? What other pieces of history — solidly heavy immovable irrefutable bits of history — could one completely fake?…
The Big OK Posted on February 11, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes On Water Street, years ago, there used to be a small sign graveyard. One of the many treasures I picked up over the years was a large neon letter O and a letter K. The big OK was a lovely and reassuring feature of my studio, but I always wanted to do something more with it….
USB Typewriter Conversion Posted on February 9, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I’m not sure this counts as an art big idea. We’ll say it is a humble but laborious idea I’ve been thinking about for a while. I want to create a USB typewriter keyboard….
The Decision-Maker Posted on February 5, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I want to create a magical machine, an actual physical electro-mechanical device, that allows you to dial in information that it will use to render decisions for you….
Santa Cruz Art List Posted on February 3, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes If you don’t document art, any newcomer in town is not going to know that Santa Cruz has a vibrant art community that exists largely outside of the gallery grind. This is about community and connection. SCArt is really about connecting with other artists, to share a beer or a creative idea….
Library in the Forest Posted on February 2, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I love outdoor rooms and I love books, so naturally when we were talking of things we wanted to magically discover while out on a Walk-About, I thought of a Library in the Forest. …
Collaborative Comics Posted on February 1, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes The history of the Santa Cruz Comic Collective and the possibility of creating comics collaboratively, sharing responsibility for writing and illustrating graphic stories….
Mimic: A Conversational Robot Posted on February 1, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Around 1997 or so, I woke up suddenly from a dream with the knowledge of how to create a simple and elegant chatterbot. I spent the next 24 hours feverishly coding until I had a web-based program that I called Mimic. I’ve been wanting to revisit this idea for years….
Travel Sketching Posted on January 29, 2013 (October 10, 2020) by Wes Modes I need to hit the road with my sketchbook and my pens. A motorcycle trip, or a train trip, or even — dare I say it? — get on a plane and go somewhere far away….
Community Organizing vs. Art Posted on January 24, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes An interesting realization: The more community organizing I do, the less art I do. Looking back, no wonder I’ve had a creative itch that has felt unsatisfied for a while….
Redesigning the Portfolio Posted on January 18, 2013 (October 10, 2020) by Wes Modes I realized I needed a new portfolio, and that the many diverse areas of my life — art, technology, activism, non-profits, adventure, all of these things — were relevant experience to feature….
Just Not Safe Posted on January 18, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes I can see a whole exhibition’s-worth of interactive objects that you quickly understand are Just Not Safe. This is an exploration of personal agency. We live in a society where, as much as possible, we are isolated from danger. …
A Map Exploration Project Posted on January 17, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes What lies beneath all the lines? What stories are told? Whose stories? What stories are left untold? What happened here that is not recorded? What about here?…
A Falling Installation or The Objects of Damocles Posted on January 16, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Bowling balls, sheets, lit lamps, vases, bouncing rubber balls, pots, pans, a rat in a cage, an armchair, bags of marbles, sandbags, televisions, electronics, buckets of sand, and an upright piano all suspended by threads come to mind….
A Large-Scale Stereoscopic Vision Array Posted on January 16, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes A project to create large-scale, 360 degree, full 3D perspective in real time. Buildings, clouds, even distant mountains would appear in 3D….
Observations About NPC Conversation Posted on January 14, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes Some observations about human conversation and a series of implementations I used in creating an unusual system of NPC conversation in a recent interactive fiction….
Adding Actions in Inform 7 Posted on January 14, 2013 (December 2, 2019) by Wes Modes As one adds necessary new actions, the number of verb-object combinations in the game grows exponentially — along with the number of potentially erroneous or inappropriate responses to verb-object combinations….
Story Generation Games & Tarot Posted on November 23, 2012 (December 4, 2019) by Wes Modes I spent an evening looking for story generation games. Not computer games that had interactive story generation, but meta-games whose result was a story, computer or non-computer games….
