Titan Missile Base, Tucson
I like these trailers at the Titan Missile Base south of Tucson. There used to be a trailer with hinged wheels at the front at Orford Ness that was even nicer, perhaps of a similar vintage. Quite a lot of contractors in Winnipeg use semi/ articulated lorry trailers as site huts. This one would work very well as a control room for the Bird Automata Test Track.
Rear view of one of the new instruments
Here is the reverse view of Instrument Eight. The instruments are built out of aluminium this time, which makes them much more robust. You might notice quite a few differences on the front side from the previous instruments.
Herring Gull
Herring Gull
Herring Gull
Living by the seaside I have become very impressed with seagulls. They were on my mind for the Bird Automata Test Track work, partly because Marey studied gulls. They fly (mostly glide) very elegantly. My Herring Gull skeleton is also very beautiful but has been mounted with it legs in a strange position – maybe as if to take off – while the gulls around here all have their legs perpendicular to their torso (so the legs would drop straight down from the knee joint behind the wing. The skeleton is to provide dimensional information in case I get round to making a full sized bird automaton.
Davis Monthan AFB
Davis Monthan AFB
These were from a visit a few years ago – I dug them out today for another reason and thought I should post some.
Drawing Instrument Eight from above
One of the new drawings in its early stages
Part of one of the new drawings at an early stage.
Cockatoo Island
Cockatoo Island
Cockatoo Island
I had an e-mail the other day from Tom Rivard, one of the organisers of the excellent Urban Islands Workshops that I participated in a couple of years ago, telling me about the most recent edition. They are held on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, a stunning location, that used to house a shipyard and other institutions. Now the island is a recreational destination and provides camping facilities, shown here. So as not to wear out the grass they rotate the tents and so establish a biophotographic plate where the variation in photosynthetic exposure imprints ever decaying impressions of different shades of green.
Instrument Eight
A similar leg to the one in the last post, before drawing began
Instrument Eight
I have not posted any new work for a while. With Perry Kulper I have been working on some new things for our Pamphlet Architecture No. 34 and don’t want to post the work before that is published, but here is a view of one of the Instrument Eight legs after a drawing session.
Brighton Pier
Brighton Pier
Brighton Pier
Brighton Pier this evening (seen from the end of our road)
Nat Chard 