LEVEL 8 - The Chocolate Bar Kid

After my last post Disco Kid managed to escape when we were out. He was last seen in the Lawrence Hill area of Bristol. * 

We found Disco Kid hanging out in a seedy bar and and managed to get him home in one piece.

His head was spinning!

I was contacted by Louise who was in my year at junior school we were friends then and had recently met at a school re-union. Its nice how so many of us are in touch via facebook and a few of my childhood pals have been following the blog.

Louise and her husband Colin run a bar in Watford called Chocolate. They showed an interest in Level 7 for the bar but were too late so I suggested that they could have first dibs on the next Level and that I had an idea for Level 8 called Disco Kid. 

They said yes as soon as they saw the blog and we arranged that I bring it down on Saturday.

Meanwhile they got a flyer together to promote Disco Kids first night.

I arrive saturday and we have a little difficulty at first where to put him so he can be seen but not touched. We realise the best place is between the cool semicircular booths they have. aparently there used to be a fishtank there so Disco Kid was filling a gap. He needed a plynth or something. So I asked if they had anything out back that we could use to put him on. They didnt think I would find anything but...

... a barrel is perfect. I shoot down to Wilkinsons and buy some silver spray paint and some long bolts to secure the whole lot down.

I sprayed up one of the barrels and it looked great like it was brand new when it was done. 

We finally got it all working and they love it.

I went back later that evening to raise a glass for him and take some photos, 

The place was packed and had a great vibe, 

Disco Kid looks wicked in his new home,

He will party forever!

Heres a vine clip...https://vine.co/v/hvllEOIY6QV

Louise says she would like to have the story on the same long wall and it will add each level. I suggest having a 'You are here' where disco kid is at level 8.  I wonder how far this crazy idea is actually going to go???

Ive got an idea for level 9 and the £256,  I will have to get it made in America, you will have to check the next Blog Post to find out. But It will be something to celebrate the launch of my new 3D project Holotronica. Im pleased to announce that it will be released on 18th November 2013 as a 3D Blu-Ray, CD/DVD and Vinyl.

you can pre-order it through the new holotronica shop at www.holotronica.com 

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* Thanks to Nathan for sending me this picture it made me laugh, I have no idea who this is or where he is going. If anyone can shed some light on this photograph then please get in touch.)

LEVEL 8 - 'Disco Kid'

LEVEL 8 - Budget £128

After the last sale 'level 6 Pete' mentioned that its snowballing, I liked this analogy as its positive to think of the project like a snowball rolling down a hill and growing steadily rather than trying to climb a mountain. He sent me a graph to demonstrate this idea...
...he said its like falling off a cliff.             

When I bought the level 7 box from the closing down Bishopston Trading Company, I also bought some cheap slightly creepy mannequins they were selling off. The child size one was just £10 and the male torso was £30. I think these are expensive new and bent the rules slightly buying these for future levels.

 

 I thought it would be cool to give the small one a mirrorball head and holding its own light. I love mirrorballs but they are not that easy to rig up and I thought it would be great to have a sculpture that is all in one... mirrorball, motor and light.

I sourced a mirrorball and motor from Maplins for £33

I went away for a weekend break in Pembrokeshire to visit my friend Ivan who is a brilliant kinetic sculptor I met at Kinetica. check out his website www.ivanblack.co.uk he makes amazing spiralling sculptures. 

Ivan has a studio/workshop and gave me a hand fitting the mirrorball motor to the kids neck.

We used the top of the existing motor casing as a plate to connect the motor to the neck. Ivan cut the top off the motor casing on the lathe. It flew off just as I took the picture you can see it fly away to the right.

Then he drilled out the mirrorball spindle so we were able to connect it to the upturned motor.

He then made a perfect base for it even creating a pin that goes up one of the feet. Thanks to Ivan for his help, I help him out on one of his projects creating an CGI animation, Its a good way to work with other artists like this.

I visited many fancy dress shops in Pembrokeshire and Bristol in search of a disco costume. In the end I found a silver space suit at Costumes R US wholesale in North Bristol. The suit was too big so I got it fitted at a tailors in Gloucester Rd called Brunel Tailoring.

A few days later I picked up the mannequin with a perfectly fitted silver suit which looked great. The suit cost £12 and the tailoring was £20 I put the kid in the boot of the car and wondered if there was anywhere that I could get some shoes from.

I turned round and by chance I was parked outside Oddsox a childrens shoe shop.

The girls were very helpful and I bought a pair of grey shoes for £11 in the Sale and I took the home and sprayed them silver.

I went to B&Q and found a remote control LED light for £15 and Lamp holder for £4.

I put it all together and everything worked perfectly. the Mirrorball motor and the Light fitting both have the same power requirements so it was easy to wire up. I ran a cable from the lamp up the sleeve and through a hidden drilled hole in his left shoulder blade.

After leaving the 'Disco Kid' running I notice the motor getting very hot and eventually the Mirrorball started to droop and almost fell off completely in the end due to its size and weight and not designed to be mounted upright. 

I found an 8 inch mirrorball for £2 in the Marie Curie charity shop where I bought the vases which was a result and I fitted this one instead. I drilled some ventilation holes into the top plate to help with the overheating problem. Everything seems to be working ok now. Im really pleased with 'Disco Kid' he looks great and sprays light all over the room. The light covers the whole mirror ball and projects a cool Halo effect on the wall behind.

I ordered some mirrored 3cm acrylic letters from the internet. this cost about £12.

I glue the mirrored letters around the base spelling 'Disco Kid' and a badge spelling 'OOM' I add a switch in the mains cable that comes out of his ankle.

I added some velcro to his right hand so he can hold the remote control when not in use.

I sign the back of the base... 

Orders Of Magnitude, Level 8 15th September 2013 Stuart Warren-Hill

Heres a vine clip... https://vine.co/v/hnjzXxBBre9

DISCO KID 

"Wherever there's Disco Kid, there's a party!"

For Sale £256

Contact: Stuart@hexstatic.tv

LEVEL 7 - SOLD AT THE DOG AND GUN

I took the light box along with me to a pop up pub weekend in Braunston, Northamptonshire. The event was organised by Pete Lawrence (who organised the Chilled Cider event @ Level 1) His house was once a pub. 'The Dog and Gun' closed its doors in 1971.

I turned up late on Saturday night and plugged in the lightbox. There were a couple of 'OOM Levelers' there. It had a good reaction. 'Level 1 Marcus' said that I should hold this piece back and sell it at a later level because he thinks it is worth a lot more. I explained that it was just a game and the value of the art is irrelevant and that all I need to do is advance to the next level and I will succeed.

 I spent the next day demonstrating my Oculus Rift VR (virtual reality) Developer kit that had recently arrived. well it had arrived a few weeks ago but I decided not to open it until I finished my forthcoming Holotronica 3D Blu-Ray(too distracting!). I finished on Friday morning so I was up for a celebration specially considering the album and the visuals had taken best part of 5 years to complete. I hope to develop Holotronica VR to coincide with the launch of the Rift  in 2014. Its amazing and blew minds of everyone who tried it that day. It will revolutionise computer gaming forever.

My friend Jacquelina introduced me to  Johnny who was taking photos with a wide angle lense. He also does 360 immersive photography which interests me and something I want to explore within OOM at some point. He liked the light box and he bought it from me.

I tell them they will receive a VIP pass to the amazing party Im going to throw if I complete the challenge.
He paid me £128 in cash and took it back to Finsbury Park London where they live.

I left monday morning and visited my pal James Braddell AKA Funki Porcini in Lighthorn. I was telling him about the OOM project and also about an email I had received from the 'MAD Museum' in Stratford upon Avon. I had been asked If I would like to exhibit anything in the Museum as they were about to move into bigger premises. James told me we were very close to there so I managed to arrange a site visit and have a chat about what would be possible.

Iain at MAD Museum had seen my Holo-Gauze 3D screen installation at Kinetica Arts Fair in February and I explained that I have a 3D Blu-Ray album coming out soon and we agreed to install a 3D TV in there and sell the 3D Blu-Ray in the shop. I also explained about the OOM project and showed him photos on my phone of the level 7 piece I just sold. He couldn't believe what I had achieved for the budget and showed an interest in buying a piece for the Museum. I left with my mind spinning with ideas and excitement. I took a few pics and Vine clips and hopefully will be back soon with something to install.

here are some of the mechanical artworks in the museum. I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area...

Tonight I received a pic of the piece in Johnny and Jacquelinas home and a great video with their dog.

LEVEL 7 - Infinite Possibilities

 LEVEL 7 

Budget £64

 I noticed a shop closing down in Gloucester Rd called the Bishopston Trading Company

This shop has an interesting history as it has been fair trading wth a village called K.V.Kuppam for 28 years. Since then the villagers have hand made clothes for the shop and with the money they have been able to give their children a proper education. The new generation have now moved on to new ventures and the BTC has completed its goal.

You can read all about it on there website...

http://www.bishopstontrading.co.uk/shop/article.php?article_id=210

They had a lot of stock going cheap so I bought a few bits and pieces.

I found this old display box under a shelf. It was £5 and I thought this would be perfect to put something inside and hang on a wall.

I took the box home and with my budget of £64 now £59 I went around Bristol gathering the things I needed for my Idea.

I went to a glazier and had a mirror fitted and mounted into the back of the box. £7

then  bought some mirrored film for car windows in an auto shop. £16
and finally I bought some LED Strip from Able Electrics on Gloucester Rd for £30


I laminated the box lid glass with the mirrored film. I got it right on my third attempt with out any creases.

I then drilled a hole in the side and wired in the led strip around the top edge of the bottom of the box. I found some old christmas chrome balls, I cut them in half and added them to the box.

The LEDs are remote controlled and when its turned on it creates a bright infinity mirror. Looks amazing for the money I spent. The LED strip fits perfectly and look really good as you can control colours and different types of effects. My favourite is the 'Smooth' button as this does a light chase that makes the central sphere look like its rotating as it reflects the spinning lights.

The box has 7 spheres to represent 7 levels of magnitude. The centre ball repeats more than the other balls, this is a mind bending effect.

Heres a link to a video on Vine...

https://vine.co/v/heIQm2En7LY

I sign the side of the Box

'Orders of Magnitude
Level 7
24th August 2013
Stuart Warren-Hill'

'Infinite Possibilities'
For Sale £128


Contact: stuart@hexstatic.tv

LEVEL 6 - Pete's Purchase

I woke this morning to quite a few enquiries about the picture. I had decided to take the picture with me this weekend to Suffolk where I would see if any friends would want it.

(So far the hardest part of this project is to decide who of all the people who contact me to sell to. cant be a bad thing I guess? :) First come first served seems best)

Pete a friend in Bristol asked to buy it I said he can if he gets to my house before I leave at lunchtime.. " will it fit on my bicycle trailer?" he asks. I reply that it would certainly be a good photo opportunity but its probably best I drop it round.

I went to Pete's with the picture and my 3D camera.

Pete pays me £64 for the picture

Thank you!

Pete is very happy with his purchase and he thinks he got a bargain. I tell him he will get a VIP ticket to the party and exhibition if I complete the challenge.

Im now en route to Suffolk for the weekend. I have the £64 in my pocket I wonder if I find anything to inspire?

Will see.....

LEVEL 6 - Anaglyph Sky Rings

Level 6  Budget £32

I was very pleased with Level 5 and came away from Cornwall with a good feeling in my belly. Maybe it was all the cornish pasties and surprisingly excellent cider down there.  

Marcus 'Level 1' got in touch after reading the Level 5 blog and told me he was setting up a direct debit to the Monkey Sanctuary. I thought this was amazing and told him it made my day.  I got a bit choked up about this point I have to admit. 

Last weekend I had to make a trip to London do an errand for my father. while in North London I passed Southgate auctions and noted that the auction began at 2pm on the Monday. 

 Monday lunchtime I headed down there to see what they had. I got there early and hoped I might see something that would inspire me.

My mind went into overdrive thinking of what i could do with some of these things.

The stuffed boss eyed fox eating a pheasant didn't inspire at all. I spent ages thinking of things I could do with the bust of Beethoven. Exploding head with illuminated lightbulb suspended above? 

Yeah great idea! 

Oh hang on, isn't that idea just turning what is a sculptural piece of art (signed 1915) into a crappy broken light fitting? 

Wedged behind the disturbing feather jawed fox was an empty large gilt frame. It looked old and on closer inspection had some damage and was not of great age.

After an hour the auction turned to beethoven. I decided not to bid. He sold for £30 quid: I felt that maybe I'd missed a trick. Then the gilt frame came up. Nobody wanted it and it was at £15. I put my hand up and offered a fiver. I heard chuckles around the room, I was politely told the minimum in the auction is £15. So I bought it anyway to the surprise of the auctioneer.

I eventually got it home and realised the connection between the James Turrel sculpture from level 5 and the oval of the frame.

Quite quickly I made an 3D anaglyph image that fitted the frame dimensions.

I stumbled upon a great framers and printers called Niche in Stokes Croft today. This place is well known by many artists in Bristol. Rupert was very helpful and we managed to print and mount the image within an hour. I will definitely be using them again for future levels.

The six rings represent six levels of magnitude and form a tunnel that reaches from deep within the frame and reaches out towards the viewer wearing 3D anaglyph glasses. The sky is in the distance and feels like you're looking through a window and that you could easily just jump into the picture.

As well as James Turrel, the image is inspired by one of my audio visual works called 'Pulse' which was an anaglyph video released on the Hexstatic 3D 'Master View' album 2005.

heres a link...

https://vimeo.com/4182571

I sign the picture

'Orders Of Magnitude

Level 6

8th August 2013

Stuart Warren-Hill'

Anaglyph Sky Rings

3D Anaglyph Print in Large Gilt Frame

For Sale £64

Contact: stuart@hexstatic.tv

I'm leaving for Suffolk today to visit various friends over the weekend.

Im taking the picture with me, maybe someone will want it?