The Softness of Things
Week 1, Chimes

I don't particularly feel like an artist today. I decided it would be a
great idea to make wind chimes. Making wind chimes requires procuring
metal, tuning, some design and thought. I could go to K-Mart and buy
some chimes, but what would I learn from that? So off I left on my trek
to buy pipe. I love old guys in hardware stores. Almost as if they've
seen each layer of dust accumulate on the less handled goods, they know
everything.

This is probably the first time I've ever really worked with metal. And
cutting metal isn't much work as far as complexity goes. I was both
happy that everything was going as smoothly as I'd imagined, procuring
the materials, cutting, drilling and preparing the pipe, but then again
I felt a little bubble burst. Oh wait, I can do this, and I realized it
wasn't suppose to be cool that I could make wind chimes, but that the
wind chimes were cool. Shit.



I wanted to make the wind chimes a vehicle to relay information
acoustically to people. Not that it was windy, no, these chimes would be
placed inside so they could tell people about the outside. Then
I started to feel lost.

Part of me wants to make art. If I were an artist, I would likely have
the skills and background to make far superior wind chimes to the ones I
am clanking on now (note to self, good time to collaborate). Then I
realized that the chimes that I was envisioning would never be art, but
wind chimes that have a novelty feature added, the ability to be
controlled by a motor instead of wind. Where is the attraction in that?

I think pieces should be multi-layered. Simplicity is important, but
there needs to be depth. I don't see any depth in my chimes,
which causes me to loose interest without evening having had completed
them.

... after thoughts ...



Purpose of the chimes:

By placing the chimes indoors, and monitoring the wind speed outside, the
chimes will sound according to outdoor wind flow. The interior space
will be transposed with the exterior, adding a natural element to what
might otherwise be an enclosed office or living space void of any notion
of outdoor conditions. By using the paradigm of the wind chime, a
connection can be made with the users memories, hopefully playing on
childhood nostalgia for a pleasant breeze on ones' face. The sound could
also be used to allow the blind, unaware of external conditions without
exiting the interior, a grasp of their encompassing surroundings.

Thoughts for improvement:

The object I made does not visually inspire "pleasant childhood
nostalgia". The materials I used to the complete the wind chimes are
mismatched and of questionable quality. I need to completely review the
materials (particularly the string and pinning piece) and redesign the
weight balance, hole placement, etc. The pipes themselves need to be
polished so light string may be used to attach them (the surfaces are
rough from the drill and wear at thin string), and to remove
imperfections present on the metal.

Up

-- Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:44 -0400

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