Emily August

Just a quick little post to tell you not to worry. I'm still alive and kicking, and I've been working very hard behind the scenes to develop a new web site, as well as a photography portal to share my photo work with clients. Its become quite necessary to put a process in place so that I can quickly process my creative work in a consumable way, and I've struggled with how to keep the casual feeling of my go go distro blog.




Here's the lowdown:

You don't have to change any RSS feeds whatsoever, and you'll still be able to read my blog on Blogger, or you can hop on over to emilyaugust.com and subscribe to the new RSS feed there. It will essentially be replicating exactly what I put into Blogger, so if you are comfortable here, please stay. I like that I can keep all of the social linking aspects tied to Google and Blogger while trying out my grownup blog on Wordpress. This whole process has been a learning experience and I would be happy to consult with other bloggers looking for help on this topic!

I must say a big Thank You to Rory Nugent for helping me figure this out!

I'm also restructuring my flickr pages and images to make that more navigable and as a result, I'm breaking image links left and right! If there are any images you can't see in my blog posts, or if you've linked to one of my images in the past and now find it missing, please let me know. Thanks, as always, for reading. It means a lot to me to hear from family and friends (and awesome strangers) alike.

Last night at the IAC building designed by Frank Gehry, ITP, the program at NYU where Rory is doing his residency, presented a night of projects on the big screens across from Chelsea Piers. Rory wore a suit that was part of the control of one of the projects, made with conductive thread and wireless radio controls. As the suit was touched in different ways, a circuit was completed through your body and large time-elapsed photos of gorgeous flowers opened and bloomed on the giant screens, closing down once your hands were removed from the suit.

All of the projects were neat. It was fun, especially because of the free wine and hanging out with friends, which is the nicest thing about going to art events like this.

We went across the street afterward to Chelsea Piers and had holiday microbrews with delicious warm/soft pretzels and wings. Then we got into some shenanigans* that led us to getting a cheap cab ride back to the PATH, where we were able to return to JC and continue the drinking at a few stops: LITM (Love is the Message) for Tequila Iced Tea specials, and Skinner’s Loft for delicious Japanese Pretz and more holiday biers with a table full of friends.

*I was almost attacked by an angry Polish limousine driver, but Rory protected me with his stalwart silence and also walking away after apologizing twice and getting nowhere. I heart NYC.

Yesterday we were in Van Vorst Park for the Soundwalk, wearing headphones and listening to little radio sounds as we made our way through the park. We were tuning in to three simultaneous broadcasts of things like historical texts and scores written to coincide with the sounds of the park. There were also hidden microphones that were picking up and transmitting more sounds into the broadcast, but we couldn’t find any. We had a lot of fun with it, dancing around whenever our transmission was broken up by hardcore screamo from a neighboring college station.

We had made our way around every area of the park, and I was photographing the three sculptural pieces on display when on top of her radio broadcast, Allison suddenly heard something like, “Sorry lady, you’re going to die!” Sure enough, she was about to get liquidated by the laser gun this child had just purchased from the Van Vorst Flea Market. How exciting!

Here, Allison has just found out that there is a red dot on her leg from the light of the laser gun. Seconds later, the red dot was aimed at me. Horrors.

This threat of violence was not part of the exhibition but I wanted to find out more about the walk, so I looked it up this morning. From the artists’ post on WiredJC:

The Van Vorst Park Soundwalk is an interactive sound art piece which simultaneously uses the park as a musical score and instrument. The public is invited to experience the piece through portable headset radios as they walk through a loosely defined route within the park.

For a detailed project description please go to:
http://art.rutgers.edu/~catera/vvp.html

This is a solo version of collaborative pieces that I’ve participated in in NYC and Warsaw, Poland. The Jersey City Museum has been gracious enough to present the piece to coincide with this year’s JC Artist Studio Tour.

Observations

Sounds in the park: many dogs (there is a dog run); running water (fountain); skateboards and scooters scraping on the ground, buses pulling up, stopping, and pulling away; wind; my own footsteps; bird wings flapping (pigeons make a lot of sounds); conga drums (from the Spanish-coalition sponsored flea market set up along the edges of the park).

It was weird to hear historical texts about settlers but not have enough time to sit and really listen to process the context. I have a terrible mind for historical fact and numbers. Definitely made me curious about the history of where I live.

This is the first time I’ve ever participated in something like this and I loved how supported the project seemed: Its nice to know that the Jersey City Museum, NJ Arts Council Fellowship, and free103point9 had the means to make the piece come alive with equipment and programming. I have so many ideas that I always think could never happen, so I guess I found this pretty inspiring. Then again, I didn’t go to art school or anything, so maybe this type of sound sculpture is a common form of interactive design. Either way, super cool and nicely done.

So, first Allison gets a major blog gig. Now, Rory has started writing for the blog Greensearch, which has some pretty cool aims for its advertising dollars:

You’re online pretty much every day.
You search for stuff all the time.

Wouldn’t it be cool if small, everyday actions could add up to something? Greensearch is a way to harness the power of those lost moments and turn them into a focused impact. When you visit Greensearch, you help us generate money from advertising, which we donate to an environmental non-profit. In a sense, your eyes and fingers are making a big difference for the environment. You may not be planting trees all day, but your efforts can still add up.

Here is a link to his profile and his first official post.

Friday night we had the best time out in Jersey City I’ve had since moving here, and its for the dorkiest reasons. Literally two blocks from our front door, these guys put on a show with music created solely with low-bit technology like Gameboys and drum machines. They call it Chip Tunes but I sort of like to call it 8-bit or just plain nerd heaven, and we danced it up just to prove our love. Rory’s friend Mike and his girlfriend Rita met us there. It was so much fun.

A self-portrait I did a while ago that explains everything about my relationship with video games and outdated technology. I don’t want to turn this blog into a classic gaming showcase, so I won’t. But I could. Oh my goodness, could I. The only trouble would be that I wouldn’t stop.

Rory is a crazy programmer.

Image stolen from Allison’s iPhone.

Rory created a tiny computer module to display text pulled from the internet onto our television. He didn’t invent this, but soldered a little chip (ybox) that came in the mail, based on instructions. Still, it opens up the television as a medium for several ASCII-driven projects, experimentation, and generally ironic or funny aggregations. The information is character based and won’t show videos or photos or anything, but I love the old school gaming look and feel of the screen.

I guess this post will reveal in part my obsession with 8-bit technology, and cross-platform metaphors.

Also, Rory wants me to clarify that he didn’t program anything. But still!

Image via Eugene Ahn.

This post on the WIRED blog talks about the project Cyrano Suit by Eugene Ahn from ITP. Click the link for the WIRED article, and you can watch the film that was made in our apartment in Jersey City, and in nearby Van Vorst Park.

Here are some shots that I took of Eugene explaining her suit at the ITP Spring Show last month. I noticed she’s using the same adjustable dress form that I have at home, but she told me it belongs to NYU.

Thanks Paul Henry for finding the WIRED blog post, and to my sister Sarah for forwarding it along! The joke is that Rory keeps appearing in everything that Paul Henry reads (MAKE magazine, WIRED, etc.) and he will start popping up where you least expect him.

Reposted from www.prize-pony.com.

Someone from MAKE magazine featured Rory’s Square Band in the MAKE blog, probably after seeing it at the ITP Spring show last night.

Congratulations, Rory! Now everyone will believe me when I say that my boyfriend can sew. Not to mention the fact that this little instrument is a lot of fun to play with!

Rory graduates on Saturday from NYU. He’s all done building robots and earning his Masters degree in Interactive Telecommunications. Tonight we went to visit him at the spring ITP show, which is also open to the public again tomorrow night.

Thanks to the wonder of the internet, you can view Rory’s thesis presentation online. Also be sure to check out Eugene’s presentation, which has a film starring Rory that was filmed in our apartment (and “our” park) in Jersey City. I promise they are worth the wait to download.

PS If you go to the show, take a minute to sit down and watch Nancy Garcia’s presentation. She’s got a small room set up with about six television monitors displaying her thesis. Its calming. She is also playing live with Thurston Moore on Friday!

Had a great time last night with Allison after a long day: cabernet and chianti at a bar on Sullivan, followed by midnight cupcakes at Magnolia, and a salute to Marc Jacobs surplus (pictured here).

Also, check out Rory’s recent ITP blog posts, including:

He will be done with his degree really soon! He’s building lots of little musical robots for his final thesis, and getting groups of friends together to help him in the final throes of semester-end crunch time. Hence, robot knitting circle. I think the little robots are amazing, but I have always had a thing for robots.

Tyler from Chauchat sent me the band’s new CD on yer bird records, and a super old split he recorded with Birdie Hilltop, after I wrote to him and told him that I lost it. The split CD has one of the most amazing songs I have ever heard, and I was devastated after recently sorting through all of my CDs to find that it was gone. I’m so glad he slipped it in the mail! I am also working on putting on a show somewhere in Jersey City with Tyler and Ryan Doyle, but its just a loose plan at this point. And of course, all things are related in some way: Chauchat is part of a 4-way split cassette release coming out on Unread Records that my band mate Kevin is also on. Kevin’s been busy recording a new album, and he’s getting ready to move away, so we haven’t hung out at all.

But if he’s reading this, you left your sweater here.

So, yes folks. Rory is at it again. Check out this amazing little synthesizer you wear on your wrist. Its powered by solar panels, and has a headphone jack output. You control the sound with the little array of yellow buttons on the side.

Rory completed this project for class by sewing the strap from scrap fabric, using my sewing machine. I think he’s going to keep working on the design, but, as it stands, I think its really impressive that he came up with this concept and made it work.

Now we just need to start a band.

My boyfriend Rory has been working on some new little sound bots! I particularly love the videos he’s posted about them. I love his sense of humor, mixed with a simplistic construction. Its also nice to see these coming to life, as he’s been leaving prototype circuit boards and solar panels all over the apartment for months.

I always wanted to make autonomous instruments or sound generators and I’ve always been fascinated with making small, life-like creatures that can exist anywhere. So, in a couple hours as a test for me and as material to get feedback about, I built a small sound bot. — from his blog.

So, yes. It really happened. The Canadian Discovery Channel came down and filmed a short spot on Rory’s Solar Xylophone today. This was filmed in Washington Square Park around lunch time.

I think this cell phone picture that Rory sent me is pretty telling.

Stay tuned for details!

Related:

What the heck is a solar xylophone?
Rory’s web site: Prize Pony
Rory in MAKE Magazine Issue 12

Today, Rory, Allison, and I attended THREADS: Wearable Art Fashion Show at the Jersey City Museum. The event was sponsored by the museum and by gaia studio. In total we had to walk about four blocks to attend this event, as it was right in our amazing neighborhood.

Rory knew a few classmates from NYU’s ITP program who were showing work in the fashion show, but, more importantly, we went to see Despina Papadopoulis, a teacher and designer with whom Rory has been working closely this semester at her studio, Studio 5050. Despina was a key speaker along with the two women who founded BurdaStyle! For those of you who sew, BurdaStyle is a must for you to bookmark: sign up, find inspiration and free, copy-right free patterns and designs, and upload your own creations. The women from Burda Style (Nora Abousteit and Benedikta Von Karaisl) gave a presentation on the Open Source aspect of the site, and the ways in which involving the community of sewers and DIY fashion designers across the Internet is revolutionizing many aspects of communication and sharing amongst fashion designers of every skill level. It made me excited to have some time this week to do some sewing of my own. I loved how they stressed the importance that web sites like flickr and etsy are having on our culture.

Studio 5050’s Despina spoke next about the history of the availability of textiles and fashion and the ways that consumerism has affected and been affected by our need to clothe our own vulnerabilities and communicate information to the world. The work that she does involves exploring new ways to combine wearable fashion with technology in order to play with the dialogue we have between our selves and the spaces we create around our bodies. I’m very excited to say that she invited me down to the studio for a visit this week, so I’m going to check it out one day when Rory’s working there (he’s one of her interns).

Despina and the ladies of BurdaStyle.com taking questions during a Q&A session. I loved the flyer design, which you can see projected up on the screen behind them.

Next came a fashion show featuring local artists and designers.

Below I have pictures of the opening piece, “Body Bootie” by Juliana Cope. It was absolutely fun and amazing. These are knitted plastic bags formed into a costume worn by performance artist Glenis Holder. Her movements were whimsical like a puppet bobbing around on the stage. Halfway through the performance, she altered the suit to reveal a very pregnant belly and access for her hands to begin throwing streamers of bright orange plastic around as she twirled. It was really amazing and a great start to the show.

“Body Bootie” by Juliana Cope

“Undercovers: A Bespoke Burial Blanket” by Tichenor, Tichenor & Mayoff.
The model was carried on stage by six pall bearers wearing black.
The shroud is meant to be a biodegradable coffin replacement, incorporating
several materials to represent Life, Spirituality, and the Beyond.

“Tampon Couture”, Danielle Fotopoulos.
Yes, the non-traditional materials used in this dress
are, in fact, feminine hygiene products.
The overall affect was quite elegant, though
someone did briefly warn the model to be careful of other
people carrying red wine at the reception afterward.

The picture above represents both the pall bearers
carrying the body enshrouded in “Undercovers” off the stage,
but also the project that brought me the most joy.
The model walking up the aisle with the feathery afro
(my dream hair, by the way) was wearing “The Aphrodite Project:
Platforms”. These babies are super high-tech hooker shoes!
They incorporate safety, video, and even GPS technology.
One could receive information, or set off an emergency alarm with these,
as well as stash such necessities as money and condoms in a hidden
compartment. The GPS would help them in a dangerous situation,
alerting others to their whereabouts or just helping them find
their way home. Wherever that may be.

“Tabbed” by Pollie Barden, designer and neighbor or ours.
Peel away clothing inspired by paper dolls.

“The Muttering Hat” and “The Talk to Yourself Hat” by Kate Hartman.
Die hard emilyaugust followers will realize that this was
the hat that I tested just about a year ago when Kate was
looking for volunteers at ITP. (That is the program where
my boyfriend Rory is working on his Masters Degree.)

mutter, mutter, mutter…

There were tons of other amazing projects at this show, and lovely little giveaways. I am treasuring the little Burda Style buttons I received. Check out the Events Page at Gaia Studio for more information, and for upcoming events.

More photos from this event can be found in my gaia fashion show and lecture flickr set. Contact me directly for use of these photos or to request high-resolution larger photo sizes.