Study for a camera on a plot of land in the desert

Through an autonomously functioning remote sensing device, the artist intends to weave together threads from perception, geography, coding theory, compression, image making, the contemporary network condition, contact and remoteness, as well as 90ies online culture. In spring 2017 a custom-designed circuit board (PCB) will be permanently installed in the High Desert area of California. The circuit boards dimensions are 12 by 12 centimeters; it is anchored to the ground by a concrete block. The circuit board contains a small solar panel, as well as a super-capacitor and related charging circuitry, a camera module, a radio module, and a low-power microcontroller – comparable to the one used in the popular “Arduino” electronics platform. A custom program, written by the author, is being executed by the microcontroller. It choreographs the following series of events – which happen autonomously, guided only by availability of sunlight: The super-capacitor stores energy harvested from the sun. Once sufficient charge has been accumulated, the camera module is being powered on, and a low-resolution photograph of the surrounding environment is being captured. After applying further compression and encoding, the image is turned into a package suitable for “Amateur Packet Reporting System” (APRS) communication, and emitted as radio waves through the radio module.

BIO

Gottfried Haider, b. 1985 in Vienna, received a degree in Digital Arts at Vienna University of Applied Arts in 2009. He completed a MFA in Design Media Arts at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2013 on a Fulbright Scholarship. His practice combines teaching, tool-building (e.g. Hotglue together with Danja Vasiliev, work with the Processing Foundation), and autonomous artwork. Gottfried Haider’s work has been shown in different international venues and contexts. Amongst others: Ars Electronica Festival, Transmediale Festival, 16th International Symposium on Electronic Arts, dOCUMENTA (13), Machine Project, Hacking Habitat exhibition, FILE Festival, Interdisciplinary College.