Tools for Tales (Medium as Message)
--- B R E A T H I N G ---------- U M B R E L L A S ---
Designing a mechanism to control an Umbrella with breathing or respiratory movement of the chest. Enter the breathing Umbrella.
Do you breath the Umbrella or does it breath you?
The intended outcome is to create 2 Breathing Umbrellas and have them connected with fabric from their enlarged circumference, with the tops of each Umbrella facing each other as you see in the sketch's below.
As each participant controls one Umbrella each, their Umbrellas movement are connected via the Fabric to the other Umbrella, hopefully creating the feeling that there is only one mechanical 'creature' controlled by the life support of the two participants.
Will the participants feel in control of the umbrellas or will it feel like the umbrellas own limitations control the participants. Who breathes who?
"No smoke without fire. No breathe without life. With mechanical movement, externalising the the bodily rhythm of breathing, a conscious and subconscious action. A kinetic externalisation of the bodily rhythm of breath between two people."
"Collective bio-feedback. A single mechanical creature who's movements are conditioned by the life giving activity of two people. Breath parents."
Why the breath?
As Humans we make a strong association between breathing and life. If something breaths, or shows signs of respiration, it must be alive. (scientific definition of life, and it's 7 signs...) You could find the most common inanimate object, and make it breath, or show signs of breathing, and we may for a moment be convinced, or have the feeling that it is an alive, sentient being.
The breath is also the most common object of meditation because it has no form and it constantly coming and going. If you ever need an anchor to the present moment to pull you out of 'your head', out of your habitual and dualistic thought patterns, your internal chatter or dialogue, it is the breath.
The breath as an object of focus in meditation is used in Shinay (Tibetan) or Shinyata (Sanskrit), which is translated to mean, calm abiding, to calm the mind down and focus it in one direction. Only once you have calmed the mind down can you begin control it.
Associations between Umbrella and Breath?
The Umbrella simultaneously symbolisms protection (Function) and fragility (Materials, form) of the breath. Life must be protected as it is fragile. The mechanical motion of the umbrella is an exaggerated form of the human diaphragm's movement.
---Other Artists using Umbrellas----
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: "The Umbrellas" 1991
link JULIE TREMBLAY 2014
The “Parasol Project” by Jo Ann Fleischhauer is an installation. The artist chose to contrast how emotions are portrayed in modern times versus the Victorian Era. The images on the parasols, which mimic floral designs, are actually colour-infused Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) – contemporary emotional representations – while the parasols themselves represent the desires of women in Victorian times, who used parasols to convey unspoken emotions to men.
Sam Spencer's 'Umbrella Tree'
“Cumulus Light Canopy” by Steven Haulenbeek
---Technical Development---
First researched and collected the necessary components:
One Strong Stepper Motor/ The Motors Driver/ A Universal Mounting Hub/
Driver connection Diagram:
Arduino, Motor and Driver connected:
Considered a variety of mounting methods for the Motor and Umbrella:
3D design of the the mounting for potential 3D Printing (using the Blender software):
To scale section drawing:
First attempt to use wood and Metal by hand to construct the above mechanism sketch is shown below in the images: