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Screen captures from “My Stolen Revolution”

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“The original Persian droplet-like motif -- the boteh or buta -- is thought to have been a representation of a floral spray combined with a cypress tree, a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity.” Source: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151021-paisley-behind-rocks-favourite-fashion

Yazd, Iran - origin of Zoroastrianism and the boteh (paisley)

“Boteh is a Persian word meaning bush, shrub, a thicket (a small dense forest of small trees or bushes), bramble, herb. Some would even take it to mean a palm leaf, cluster of leaves (perhaps as a repeated pattern) and flower bud.”

“Other articles on the boteh also link the motif to the Cypress and to the significance of the Cypress as a tree of life in Zoroastrian folkloric tradition. In addition, the boteh motif is sometimes referred to as the flame of Zoroaster. We are informed by Fiona Maclachlan that in Azerbaijan, the buta (botteh) is regarded as a symbol of fire.”

Source: http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/trade/paisley.htm

Notes from this video:

Two cypress trees sit in the place of the ancient Zoroastrian fire temple, dating back 1300-1400 years, thought to be two siblings (brother and sister) Zoroastrians would plant cypress trees near their temples, and build their temples in green areas, where they could find fresh water (one of the main elements).  Villages would be built facing the cypress tree.

The dates grown in the region - every part of the date tree is used

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Exploring the Paisley

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Paisley Park (album: Around the World in a Day, 1985)

Lyrics:

One, two One, two, three

There is a park that is known For the face it attracts Colorful people whose hair On one side is swept back

The smile on their faces It speaks of profound inner peace Ask where they're going They'll tell you nowhere They've taken a lifetime lease On Paisley Park

The girl on the seesaw is laughing For love is the color this place imparts Paisley Park Admission is easy, just say you believe And come to this place in your heart Paisley Park is in your heart

There is a woman who sits All alone by the pier Her husband was naughty And caused his wife so many tears

He died without knowing forgiveness And now she is sad, so sad Maybe she'll come to the park And forgive him And life won't be so bad In Paisley Park

The girl on the seesaw is laughing For love is the color this place imparts Paisley Park Admission is easy, just say you believe And come to this place in your heart Paisley Park is in your heart

See the man cry as the city Condemns where he lives Memories die but taxes He'll still have to give

Who, whoever said that elephants Were stronger than mules? Come to the park and play with us There aren't any rules, in Paisley Park

The girl on the seesaw is laughing For love is the color this place imparts Paisley Park Admission is easy, just say you believe And come to this place in your heart Paisley Park is in your heart

The girl on the seesaw is laughing For love is the color this place imparts Paisley Park Admission is easy, just say you believe And come to this place in your heart Paisley Park is in your heart

Your heart, your heart Paisley Park Your heart, your heart Your heart, sing, sing it

Paisley Park Paisley Park Paisley Park

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Interpretations:

As Matt Thorne notes in his 2012 biography Prince, “Paisley Park” is one of a number of Prince songs that imagines liberation via imaginary utopia. https://genius.com/8769889

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Prince’s birth and death anniversaries, upcoming: (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016)

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Adafruit Feather HUZZAH

Measures 2.0" x 0.9" x 0.28" (51mm x 23mm x 8mm) without headers soldered in

Light as a (large?) feather - 6 grams

ESP8266 @ 80MHz or 160 MHz with 3.3V logic/power

4MB of FLASH (32 MBit)

3.3V regulator with 500mA peak current output

CP2104 USB-Serial converter onboard with 921600 max baudrate for uploading

Auto-reset support for getting into bootload mode before firmware upload

9 GPIO pins - can also be used as I2C and SPI

1 x analog inputs 1.0V max

Built in 100mA lipoly charger with charging status indicator LED

Pin #0 red LED for general purpose blinking. Pin #2 blue LED for bootloading debug & general purpose blinking

Power/enable pin

4 mounting holes

Reset button

PINOUTS

GND - this is the common ground for all power and logic

BAT - this is the positive voltage to/from the JST jack for the optional Lipoly battery

USB - this is the positive voltage to/from the micro USB jack if connected EN - this is the 3.3V regulator's enable pin. It's pulled up, so connect to ground to disable the 3.3V regulator

3V - this is the output from the 3.3V regulator, it can supply 500mA peak (try to keep your current draw under 250mA so you have plenty for the ESP8266's power requirements!)

TX - output from the module and is 3.3V logic

RX - input into the module and is 5V compliant (there is a level shifter on this pin)

I2C SDA = GPIO #4 (default)

I2C SCL = GPIO #5 (default)

SPI SCK = GPIO #14 (default)

SPI MOSI = GPIO #13 (default)

SPI MISO = GPIO #12 (default)

9 GPIO: #0, #2, #4, #5, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16

A = Analog Pin

more info and pins: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-huzzah-esp8266/pinouts

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I am working on etextiles and physical computing again to incorporate them into my work around rituals, technology, and resistance/community/resilience/survival

I am exploring the Feather Huzzah as it is small, lightweight, and is wifi-enabled.  I will be working to adapt this to Kaho’s work around wearables and soft buttons for the guest lecture I am doing for Scott Fitzgerald’s class at NYU and also towards my own work of course.

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Documentation of participants performing in the ritual at Parsons MFADT MAJOR MAJOR show (Wavelengths) on May 6, 2017

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Focused on environmental change rather than flavor, art students Hung I-chen, Guo Yi-hui, and Cheng Yu-ti from the National Taiwan University of the Arts concocted a line of “frozen treats” titled Polluted Water Popsicles. The group collected polluted water from 100 locations in Taiwan, first freezing the collected sewage samples and then preserving their creations in polyester resin.

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/06/polluted-water-popsicles/

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Video documentation of the ritual performance at Parsons MFADT MAJOR MAJOR 2017 Wavelength show

May 6, 2017

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Feedback from Katherine Moriwaki (physical computing class):

1. 3M Glass Cloth Electrical (aka conductive fabric tape) is a great tip for working with soft circuits, particularly pressure sensors since it is both resistive and conductive.

2. Biomodd as a precedent for computation and biology as I think of what the new nature will look like in a techno-facilitated world.

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Student of Stones Daily Intention card, May 7, 2017 Tarot Deck: Slow Holler

Massage the grooves of the pebble.  Roll a seed between your fingers. Trace the trunk of a tree.  There are resources just at your touch that want to teach you how to develop systems that allow you to ground, to grow, to reach out.

Yesterday was Major Major.  Today I reflect.  I received some very needed affirmation and critical feedback for the work to move forward.  The tools and rituals are in the systems of the world, the world that I want to reflect - this world reflects back at me, calls me, demands to be heard and seen.  That is my intention with the project, to highlight and bring dialogue around climate change, global conflict around oil, and resource scarcity.  Humans through war, greed, and destruction transform Mother Earth, the Mother of All.  She gives the answers, she holds the ritual, the gestures to connect.

When you pull this card, know that the environment is conspiring to help you.  Know how to draw what you need to you, as a tree draws water from the earth to create sweet fruits.

Pomegranate,,,, a Persian fruit.  During Chaharshanbe Soori, we eat mixed dried fruits and nuts, a connection to the cycles of the earth as the vernal equinox arrives.  Spirits arrive and are souls are to be cleansed.  I need to connect to these elements and their purposes.  Get into the dirt of the ritual, the feelings it brings, the goopiness of the oil that perpetuates the human-created systems that destroy Mother and child.

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// installation view and action //

MAJOR MAJOR May 6, 2017

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Shifting to the make belief.  Warmth through fire, feelings, tangibility around nature.  Rituals to connect to the environment.

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I developed a pressure sensor matrix based on Liza Stark’s example (http://thesoftcircuiteer.net/welcome-to-the-pressure-sensor-matrix/).  This sensor will the landing pad for when participants jump over the “fire,” the physical gesture as part of the ritual to cleanse self and connect to nature. 

The jumping over the fire ritual is based on Chaharshanbeh soori ceremony that preceeds the Persian New Year, or Nowruz.  This sensor will trigger (via Serial) a fire on top of the oil in the Unity3D simulation.

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I added flames (a particle system) to the Unity3D scene to complete the concept around triggering the fire through physical ritual in this ‘new nature’ simulation.  The fire on top of the oil connotes the oil well fires in the Middle East.  In this world, fossil fuels, economics, and war (and scarcity as a result) prevail over the natural environment.

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Unity3D x Arduino Tests                      

In order to integrate a ritual to be conducted by audience participants, I am connecting Arduino sensor data (via serial) to Unity3D, controlling the movement of the simulated hands.  Based on the distance data from the ultrasonic sensor (centimeters below 200), the hands will move through space, on the z-axis.

I used the example from the Parsons New Arcade collab course (Bryan Ma and Henry Lam): https://github.com/hjlam1/NewArcade16/blob/master/SimpleSerial.cs

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Machine Learning 4 Artists by Gene Kogan and Francis Tseng

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MS 2 / Reading Response Week 6 / Street Level

In the chapter “Street Level” from his book Emergence, Steven Johnson explores emergent behaviors and collective intelligence.  As a significant example, the colony system of ants proves the success of this behavior.  Johnson references Deborah Gordon in the connection between micro and macro organizations in the ant system: “I was interested in systems where individuals who are unable to assess the global situation still work together in a coordinated way. And they manage to do it using only local information."  Ants communicate to one another through their bodily functions and chemical secretions, holding minimal cognitive skills.  As individual agents, ants show emergent behavior through their attention and communication to their immediate neighbors rather than wait for instructions from the top.  This local collective action benefits and influences the whole colony—all ants are fed and taken care of.  Though ants do not hold computational powers like that of the human brain, how can we use these intelligent systems as a model of behavior for humans? How does such a system—one that maintains individuality and cares for one within and also uphold the strength and health of the whole—work for humans?  The forest ecosystem is a network of plant species that also communicate to each other to signal nutrient scarcity or predator proximity.

Johnson shows how human behavior thinks on two scales: “day-to-day survival” and the “millennial scale of cities and other economic ecosystems.”  The signals and communication methods of plants and ants are perhaps too simple for the complex human intelligence.  But I am convinced we can apply them to our lives on these scales.  From decentralized digital mesh networks to the Blockchain to collective housing and food, there are proven collective intelligence behaviors that are as successful as ants.  If we keep them local we perhaps challenge the larger existing systems and problems even more so than hoping to apply it to the whole world as if we need to feed and maintain the entire system.  How can we also apply the computer-based simulations or even better computational (or synthetic) intelligence in similar ways? Johnson used the example of SimCity.  But I would like to think of AI, just like how CyberSyn was developed in Chile to use patterns and data to calculate what is beneficial and what is harmful.  And this intelligence working with human intelligence must also be programmed collectively.