I will be presenting a talk on some of my work at The Parlor @ The Milk Factory in Chicago as part of a discussion titled INSPECT.

More information can be found here: http://the-parlor.tumblr.com/

Marwen.org

I will be part of a group exhibition at the Chicago Artists Coalition where I am currently part of the HATCH Project Program.

The opening reception is January 20th from 6-9pm at the Chicago Artists Coalition Gallery

More Information can be found here: http://chicagoartistscoalition.org/blog/2012/01/03/ascent-and-quarterly-site9-support-open-jan-20/

Pest (noun):

A destructive insect or animal that attacks crops, food, livestock, and other resources etc. Informal: An annoying person or thing – a nuisance

*As defined by humans

—-

You are a pest, one of the most expansive, destructive, and wasteful of creatures. Together with your own kind you will run yourselves extinct. Eventually you will run out of clean air, water, space and resources to survive.

Partnered: We Are All Pests is a sonic floor installation that ultimately explores the notions of the definition of the term pest and the potential for accessing termites as possible partners in the production of renewable energy resources. This installation proposes several conceptual tracts with the main idea being the consideration of the human species existing as the planet’s most expansive pest through the hypothetical perception of other species’ points of view. The second is the potential partnership with a species that we consider a grotesque pest (termites) to create inherently usable hydrogen through naturally occurring biological process within their tiny bodies. The work explores several issues including biomimicry, emergence, sustainability, what it means to be an artist and researcher, the role of citizen technologists, and uninvited “collaborations” with other species to help solve environmental dilemmas that we has humans have developed and are solely responsible for.

The installation is a 9 foot by 9 foot pine floor that houses three termite enclosures. Each enclosure is filled with sculpted paper forms that are primarily made from human paper waste products (newspapers, paper cups, plates, phonebooks, copies of the artists electrical and gas bills, etc.) that are structurally reminiscent of termite colony construction. The termites are concurrently housed in these enclosures and naturally eat away at the paper forms. As the termites consume the paper forms they ultimately digest them and naturally release hydrogen gas thus taking human wastes and transforming and recycling them into usable materials. The release of this hydrogen gas and its production through the bacteria found in the termite’s body has been under investigation by the US Department of Energy as a potential alternative to fossil fuels. The installation also incorporates several piles of ground up paper products that hypothetically represent the amount of paper the termites would need to eat to power various human devices via hydrogen power. The pine floor is most importantly surveyed by custom audio equipment. The viewer is invited to stand, sit, or lay on the custom sonic floor. As they become immersed in the installation by standing on or engaging with the piece, the sound of the termites decomposing the paper waste forms is amplified through digital vibrance resonators and heard acoustically by the viewers in real time. The floor literally becomes a sonic plane. Each termite enclosure is built around two custom microphones that allows the termites chewing to be made audible to the human senses. Conceptually I am interested in exploring various levels of decay through this piece. As our bodies grow, age, and decay on a daily basis, we also aid in decaying the planet of its natural elements for our survival and contribute to its demise through our wastefulness. As we decay the planet we produce waste, these termites have the ability to deconstruct this waste and potentially give way to creating renewable resources for the continuation of human survival- that is if we stop and take the time to consider ourselves as pests and what we consider pests (termites) as equals that we can partner with for positive benefits.

An organism that is infected with or is fed upon by a parasitic or pathogenic organism. The term can also be applied to a plant supporting an epiphyte. An animal, plant, human, or greater entity (organism), that nourishes and supports a parasite; the host typically does not benefit and is often harmed by the association. An organism with a parasite is situated within.

Pest (noun):

A destructive insect or animal that attacks crops, food, livestock, and other resources etc. Informal: An annoying person or thing – a nuisance

*As defined by humans

——

HOST is a site specific 5 channel sight video installation with a single live feed that ultimately explores the notions of what it means for animals and humans to act consciously and unconsciously as both pests and hosts. In conjunction with similar conceptual threads that exist  through my work, I am currently exploring the idea of human beings existing as the planet’s most expansive and destructive form of pest; Inhabiting nearly every niche of the planet, building into and ultimately altering the environment, and disrupting the natural flow of land, sucking it dry of non-renewable resources and space, and polluting the air through colonization of industry. The host, our planet, acts as an organism that nourishes and supports us, but does not benefit from our existence. The human pest at this rate will extinct itself, running out of clean air, water, space and resources from its host to survive.

The notions of pest / host relationships often call to mind the true grotesque nature of these cyclical relationships. As one entity reaps the benefits of the other, the result is the ultimate extinction of the host and the expansion of the pest. However, the pest can only reproduce as along as the host’s resources exist. This push-pull relationship arguably exists in every facet of nature. Upon further reflection, I am interested in calling to the forefront the grotesque reality of the pest / host cycle that the human population has placed itself within and has built for itself.

Conceptually the surveillance of these beetles serves as a metaphorical place to contemplate our own existence, reproduction, and participation in an existing pest / host cycle. Be it consciously or unconsciously, the installation ultimately calls to the notions of humans “eating” our own holes through the planet and its given resources just as the beetles live, eat, and die within their bean host. This piece aims to brings to the front the grotesque nature of the beetles cyclical relationship with their host and directly references  the overall ‘parasitic’ activities of the human population existing directly outside and in the greater world. The residential area across the street further exemplifies, in a less direct way, the home also existing as a temporary host for the human pest, built upon the skin of the earth in most cases with little regard to its potential detrimental effects. The installation at large intends to bring to the surface our seemingly mundane routines as humans in an effort to pose a larger conversation about the transformation, consumption, and progression of our larger host, the planet.

Date // 2010

Course Description //

This is a studio based course that introduces students to the theory and practice of Responsive Arts. Students will learn fundamental practices of electronic arts and interaction design including but not limited to circuit design, basic to intermediate electronics, and programming for interactivity. Through hands on exercises, students will explore basic electronic techniques and use of programmable microcontrollers (arduino) to control interactive art, sound, light, and environments. Students will also be introduced to various professional new media artists and their work through survey lectures rooted in the history, theory, and current practices of responsive and new media art.

Instructor // Brittany Ransom
Contact //  ransom.56@gmail.com, brittany @brittanyransom.com, or branso3@uic.edu
Office Hours // By Appointment
Meeting // Friday 9:00am-3:40pm Art & Architecture Room 3315
Course Website // brittanyransom.com/responsiveartssp12

This research-based project focuses on patterns and voyage paths made by Bess beetles (Odontotaenius disjunctus), classified under the insect order Coleptera. Bess beetles are an imperative species that aid in the decomposition of waste and dead vegetation, specifically within forests. They are an insect commonly found in decaying logs from Texas to Florida and as far north as Canada. Arguably similar to humans and human societal systems, Bess beetles live in pairs within a colony and are a semi-social insect. They pair for with one other beetle and share housekeeping and larval care over 14-16-month period of time. They are also able to communicate through acoustic signals. Most importantly, they travel in and outside of their ‘homes’, which are excavated galleries and tunnels within rotting timber, to feed and to care for their young. Their external travel (outside of the interior of their log homes) and pattern making have thus become the basis of this research-based series of photographic work.

The beetles were carefully introduced into various wooded environments in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin after they were affixed with the LED ‘backpack’. Using a Nikon D700, and remote shutter, the beetles was tracked both individually and in groups via long exposure taken between the hours of 10:00pm and 3:00am central standard time. Each beetle (sometimes grouping of beetles) was photographed for a minimum of 3 hours. Each beetle wearing a different color LED ‘backpack’ denotes groups of beetle movements. The current results of the Tracks Series experiments and research are presented as digital photographs.

Other forms of experimentation have taken place and are still under development. Videographic experimentation and 3D motion capture have also been a point of exploration. Accessing the shared community Instructables.com, experiments of 3D path making have been tested by adapting instructions found here: http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Motion Capture/ (http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Motion-Capture/) . Future iterations will include rapid prototyped paths exhibited as sculpture.

Date // 2010- ongiong

Course Description //

This course is designed to draw inspiration from the history of artists and designers who explore ideas and applications of interactivity to gain a practical experience with basic electronics, coding, and other techniques of digital art production. This course also encourages the development of experimental art, interactive objects, wearables, installations, and responsive environment project based on conceptual assignments. Students should also be inclined to research digital and experimental artworks and trends that they find personally interesting or compelling. Students will gain basic knowledge of electronics, the arduino platform, and introducing interactivity into their own personal art practice.

Class Website // brittanyransom.com/course4320

How Will We Build is an exploratory ongoing process involving laser etching selections of google earth screen captures of the city of Chicago that are historically rooted in city planning, politics, and densely populated areas into pine boards. Termites are introduced into a controlled environment and begin to form their own city patterns by eating through the traditional human grid system and creating or “building” their own society against the grain of our own. I am interested in investigating what human forms the termites begin to build against or with our own in regard rectilinear forms or organic forms created by the topographical building view of humans. The maps are surveyed by 24 hour web cameras that capture an image of the termites destruction twice a day indefinitely.