Unspool

OVERVIEW

What is the role of the machine in art-making?

In this project, I set out to explore the interplay between repetition and spontaneity which characterizes how we, as humans, interact with machines, algorithms, and technology to make art in the modern world. My drawing machine encapsulates the tensions and opportunities offered by these new forms of artistic generation and expression.

The simple push of a button starts the machine, which produces geometric cycloid drawings of varying complexity, color, and size. Rather than just producing one drawing repeatedly, the machine can be adjusted by the user to hold different mark-making implements, and the arms can be fixed at different points to produce circles of different circumferences.

CONSTRUCTION
PROCESS 

The iterative design process

Low-fidelity prototyping

First, a low fidelity prototype was designed primarily with the intention of modeling the basic mechanism of the drawing machine: a set of arms capable of moving a pen or other mark-making device in a cyclical pattern. The modularity of the prototype enabled the trial of different arms lengths and positions.

During this stage, I realized that the arm configuration I was using created too much friction and prevented the pen from gliding smoothly across the paper. The fixed sizes of the holes in the arms also limited the diameter of the pen and meant that it could not be switched out easily. I decided to implement a different design in the next prototype, which enabled more separation between the two arms and secured the mark-making device with a rubber band to enable not only more flexible movement but also the use of pens or markers of very different diameters.

Medium-fidelity prototyping

To motorize the prototype, a gear motor was added inside the box and attached to a small gear which engaged with a large central gear. In the first motorized prototype, the gears moved too fast, and so a new, larger prototype was developed with a central gear of larger diameter to slow down the motion of the smaller gear attached to the motor. To enable the gears to move more smoothly, all pieces were carefully sanded and waxed to minimize friction.