Ein Hammer is an art installation coming
to Burning Man 2010 in the Black Rock Desert
of Nevada.
This is where I document the progress of the piece. For
more on what it is all
about, visit the
project home page.
8/20/2010:
I'm munching the left-over half of a sub sandwich
and sliding it down with a margarita-- so much for German
sensibilities.
It's been an interesting day. Now that Chainsaw, our
structural engineer, has approved us to use 3/8" guy wires and
hardware to hold up the giant hammer, I've been driving all over
town acquiring parts. I'm pretty loose with telling the
industrial vendors in Reno that it's for a Burning Man project
and I hear everything from "Oh, they're great, we do a lot of
business because of them" to "If it's for that thing it's a low
priority for us"-- I shop accordingly. Three cheers for
the guys at Titan Building Supply.
Supply.
Just three more days until the final load-out, with
generator rental and transportation confirmed. As I look
at the huge pile of components staged for transpo, I get tiny
panic attacks that go away in a couple of seconds as I realize
that I am not the only one checking the list and to make sure we
are not leaving anything behind and that I trust the exalted Ein
Hammer leads and crew members to make sure everything that is
controllable is indeed controlled.
Dave King's two giant ball tanks are also stage and look
profanely powerful in Mr. Fixit's yard.
Is there a sizzle in the air at your place too? The
ramp-up for Burning Man has us all excited, and as
we can now actually see white space on our task
lists, everybody on the Ein Hammer crew is thrilled
and thrashing away so that we can be as "plug and
play" as possible on the playa, having accomplished
so very much in the pre-fabrication.
Yesterday,
when the crew was starting to wane in the summer
afternoon heat, the clouds rolled in, cooling the
air until the thunderstorms came. All of us were in
a mad dash to shelter and tarp the wooden standoffs
attached to the giant gas pipe as squeels of
laughter erupted. Then, the rain turned to hail that
pelted the quonset hut roof of Mr. Fixit's workshop,
and we all cackled as he stood out in the hailstorm
with arms outstretched like a popsicle messiah. Tom
Waits was playing on the sound system, galvanizing
the moment into a treasured memory for many.
Tim and Bob drove their element of the project up
from the Bay Area this weekend, known affectionately
as the "Infinity Power Tunnels". This "golden spike"
event was a meeting of their technology with that of
our own, connected by a single serial port. The
lights were lovely in the Nevada dusk, and as
darkness fell, we were captivated by their amazing
brilliance and dancing tubes of light that seemed to
penetrate the very ground. Great job, and kudos to
the Mad Scientist Collective how completely embraced
this important division of the target areas and
enhanced the "underground" image of the project.
Their moto says it all: "Better Living Through
Reckless Experimentation".
Thank you and congratulations to Bram P. for
becoming our 50th backer with his pledge this week!
As you can see on the right hand side of this page,
we've got just a little time left to reach our goal
so if you feel inclined to forward this Kickstarter
link to all your Burner friends far and wide, we'd
be most thankful. It's a way to show them what you
are excited about, so perhaps you can meet up with
them on the playa and experience Ein Hammer
together. Once again, much gratitude to you as
together we countdown to Burning Man 2010.
Be well and do strange things,
-Mister Jellyfish.
8/4/2010:
Danke, mein freunds, for your faith in the Ein Hammer project
and your pledges thus far. The excitement is hitting a fever
pitch as we count down to our departure to begin installation in
Black Rock City on Monday, August 23rd. Now that we're past the
half-way point on this Kickstarter fundraising goal with only a
few days left, may I ask you to please forward this web page to
every Burner you know?:
The Burning Man organization encourages artists to write or
produce a brief audio art tour. At the very bottom of this link,
you'll find the one I did for Ein Hammer in my most ridiculous
German accent. I hope you get a chuckle out of it:
The project is coming along swimmingly! We're approximately
90% complete and it's very satisfying seeing Ze Wėrkers move on
to building back-up components "just in case".
Our own TekSage is "skinning" the hammerhead with high-polish
aluminum sheeting that will gleam in the sunlight like a mirror
for about 13 seconds until the playa dust gets on it. :-(
Welding is complete on the hammer shank and we're finishing the
final electronic tests. We're now entering what I affectionately
call "Tag 'n' Bag Phase", where we get components that are
finished out of our sight and try like hell to dwindle down our
massive to-do lists. Aurora did some great designs on our silly
signage and Professor Munz whipped it out on the computer
controlled CNC router in a way that makes me never want to pick
up a jigsaw again. We had a filming night to shoot a video "blue
screen" of crew members in 1927 period worker costumes for Dave
Cherry to insert into his animations of the underground world
that will be viewed from the video skylights buried in the
ground. It was a hilarious night that erupted into a spontaneous
party at the end with much comradeship and the birth of a real
feeling of connection and family for us all.
Heeeeeeeere we go!
Photo by Lightnin'
7/23/2010: What a sublime and crazy week!
We've now supplemented our regular Sunday work parties and Tech
Tuesdays with "Thirsty Thursdays" for Ze Wėrkers to lift a stein
and pick off tasks. We're about
80% complete, with a focus on tag-n-bag of completed components
and "Artistic Triage" of newer
ideas we simply don't have time or resources to compete that
would otherwise infringe upon the
more vital tasks.
Professor Munz' contribution of his CNC computer-controlled
router was a real "boon" to the
letters on the archway and oblong stand-offs from the big pipe
to the gorgeous aluminum sheeting
crafted by the very skilled and fun TekSage.
My heart lept when we got all of the electronic elements into
the Sweat Box with the exception of
the Audio which Poderus has well in hand. Some of the
photos above include Larry, The Pawn, Miko
at full gufaw, Oz, Dave V., Christopher, One Eye Dick and my
daughter, Lauren dribbling the black
paint to look like grease on the power pole that tops the
archway. One fine summer we're having!
7/9/2010: Sweet Ein Hammer Wėrkers! How do I express my
deep gratitude with mere words?! Our 4th of Ju-Playa Field Test
and Human Experimentation was a smashing, beyond-expectation
success! Mouths were agape as they observed the hard work,
commitment, brilliance, and shared vision of our ilk. When the
30 foot flames roared and danced at our command up and down the
hammer, doubters became shaken believers.
Dig the video here taken by "The Pawn". Can't wait to surround
it with the high-polish aluminum sheeting and, *ahem* erect this
monstrosity!
...and from the side, with audio and commentary by Ze Wėrkers:
6-21-2010 Happy 1st day of summer, Burners! We make
it through the most crappy spring weather
ever in the Reno area, and there's lots of pent-up energy on
silliness in all of us. That's why yesterday's
work party was such a genuine thrill. The archway is
almost entirely complete, the spinning baring welded
to the top of the pipe that the hammerhead mounts on, and the
"gull wing" actuation has been re-designed
to accommodate the liquid propane shooters. Tech crew has
culled and cut the lovely 70 conductor cable from an
old casino elevator, and this Tuesday we will solder and harness
it in time for the 4th of Ju-Playa field test
in the Black Rock Desert. Dig some of these thrilling
photos of a crew that has a compelling purpose!:
5-30-2010: DJ Musa and Fancy Pants did a magnificent job framing
the participant entrance to the piece. At one point,
They hunted me down with their "Little Hammer" and tried to
pound me into the cement floor like on the old
Warner Brothers cartoons. Designed by Killbuck, you can
see his the cut-outs on the left that will be like light boxes
with
white acrylic backing. From Left: Magic, DJ Musa, Dan,
Fancy Pants, Teksage, Cheryl, Larry (where's his face?!) and El
Keith.
Magic and Mr. Fixit engineered and fully executed this
magnificent feature of the Ein Hammer project. When the sides of
the hammerhead open, flood lights reflect off of mirror panels
on the inside of them, resulting a cascade of spinning white
light that will make it look somewhat like a flaming disco ball.
Check it:
5-23-2010: Industry On Parade! Check out the final
engineering by Dan aka "Wesley" aka "Spicey":
What a sensational work party, with three welding rigs spewing
sparks including our newest member, Larry, Poderus and Dexter
creating the spandex/Victrola look for the PA speakers, Lightnin'
and Miko on the most tedious peeling task on the planet.
DJ Musa and Fancy Pants bringing our massive archway to life,
Magic completing the "gull wing" mechanism that raises the two
sides of the Hammerhead doors as it spins, and Dave V. piling
through stacks of catalogs to find the perfect parts for
Rotwang's control console. Professor Munz consulted and
brought his mother Kate along and I had the pleasure of giving
the full tour of the project.
It was so very, very thrilling today to look across the workshop
at
volunteers like Maciej (Magic) as together we just grinned and
nodded
in unison. You see, we worked together on the Zsu Zsu project
for
Burning Man 2008, and we have both come to know a certain stage
in the
project when every body gets it, everybody is excited, and
everybody
knows just what to do.
All of the thread-a-lette's are now drilled and welded in.
As soon as we receive the solenoids, we'll be able to assemble
and pressure test the big pipe. Special thanks to SA and
Propaniac of the Spire Of Fire project for sharing with us their
ground-breaking discovery on how to ignite the propane closer to
the source. One Eye Dick is now testing the solenoids for
response time and flow rate to see if the flame yield is
adequate. Here's some pics from last week's work party,
starting with Lightnin's insistence of a shot of the back of
"driller man" Chris:
5-12-2010: Cowboy Justin
welded the first of 10 thread-a-lette's to the gas pipe. We used to call
them bung holes, an industry term, then laugh like Beavis and
Butthead until the guy at the fitting shop corrected us.
I'm sorry, but thread-a-lette sounds like something my daughter
puts in her hair before ballet practice--- Jeesh!
Flanges and end cop now in place. Dan Johnson doing a most
impressive job in Sketchup so the crane operators and propane
gods at Burning Man can dig where we are coming from before we
show up on the playa. Grateful for Mr. Fixit for bringing
in his DC welder so all the welds can be certified gas pipe.
I got something like food poisoning the night before so I was
pulling a "Tom Sawyer" and wearing our Cloak Of Shame like the
useless clod that I am. I want a blankie and my teddy and
a story while the rest of the crew is hard at it-- despicable.
5/7/2010: Ah, the smell of steel. Delivery of one
ton of 6" gas pipe and 1/2" steel plate is a sight to behold.
Special thanks to Tim and Scott at Gerlinger Steel and Supply
and good neighbor Tony for their hard work and commitment to get
it done before this Sunday's work party.
5/1/2010: High polished aluminum sheeting ordered and it costed
and arm and a leg. Still, thanks recyclers! The
"Hammer Schlammer" testing yielded great fun, with crew members
beating the living shit our of our test targets with Professor
Munz' accelerometer proving quite robust. No seismic
triggering from art cars driving by, etc. The cheap
Chinese dead blow sledgehammer however, started to show major
wear quickly. We'll likely line the targets with high
impact rubber to make them last longer. We even tried a
real steel sledgehammer that started to dent in the steel plate.
The solution? Thicker plate and with center support to the wheel
hub! The big audio "boom" from Poderus confirmed our
assumption that we need all four of the subwoofers to get that
bone-rattling satisfaction from our hammer strikes.
Some guys just like to TALK about building electronic stuff.
Yep, I'm talking to YOU, Ein Hammer Tech Crew! While
you've been chasing your code down the rabbit hole, ol' Mister
Jellyfish knows how to MANIFEST! Computer housing and
interfaced boards are mounted and complete-- CHOKE ON IT,
HATERS! :-)
4/24/2010: We ordered
the steel for Ein Hammer yesterday so thats exciting. The
Sunday work parties are ramping up nicely and Im doing my best
to keep three to four work stations open at a time. Our Tech
Tuesdays are actually starting to fabricate stuff now, and the
programming is cooking along in the .Net framework. The
Yuri's Night fundraiser was a smashing success and we are very
grateful to participants that worked, played, and danced their
asses off to make it fun and profitable enough to supplement the
grant funding. Here's a video of the Metropolis-inspired
stage show that took place at the event directed by Chelsea Chen,
starring Christopher, Morgan, Sam, Miko and yours truly as Rotwang The Inventor:
Special thanks to C.B. for his generous Paypal contribution to
the project.
4/4/2010: Sometimes, just a quick test is enough to make
the entire crew realize we are really going to build this
magnificent monstrosity! Check out the hammerhead
framing that Magic's CAD design and the welding crew, led by
Cowboy Justin has yielded:
Miko joined the crew as our Mistress of Discipline, setting a
fine example by joining in the work before she punishes those
who do not. Death, where is thy sting? Lightnin',
Jungle Jim, Dan and Poderus made electronic control boxes out of
old postage scale tops, and the amazing master framers, Fancy
Pants and Spazstick made short work of the entrance arch that
supports the big Ein Hammer lighted sign and historic images of
Ze Wėrkers coming soon.
3/30/2010: The grant meeting in San Francisco went really well,
and I was thrilled with how excited and supportive the Burning
Man organization is about our project. They clearly "get
the joke" and they even pronounce "Ein Hammer" with it's
requisite guttural German accent! Here's a pic of me with
Art Curator Crimson Rose and Art Facilitator Bettie June:
We're standing in front of their big map of Black Rock City,
where Ein Hammer will be placed along the 3:30 row about halfway
between The Esplanade and The Man. Thanks for the prime
real estate, gang!
As you can see below, the metallurgy crew has been busy, with
Magic creating the necessary CAD specs to Cowboy Justin could
weld up our lovely hammerhead that we just might get skinned
with aluminum sheeting for display at our Yuri's Night
fundraiser on April 10th.
3/23/2010: This blogging is kind of therapeutic, you know?
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the elements that need to
come together, but then I look at pictures like the ones below
of our first official work day and I realize... I AM NOT ALONE
IN THIS SICK-ASS DREAM!
Behold Lee in the "Cloak of Shame". If you're caught
slackin', it's everybody's job to make sure you wear it.
Says "Am
I in the way?" on the front. Conveyor belt that creates
the illusion of delivering hand tools to the underground workers
got proof of concept, so now we just have to attach cool looking
old tools and of course, a beer bottle with a glove on it
for Laverne and Shirley to swoon over. (Thanks, One Eye!)
Dead blow sledgehammer arrived today and it's perfect!
Hardly any bounce off the target and light enough for my 15 year
old daughter to swing! Gonna get 3 more after we have our
hammer shlammer party and test the sensors with lots of
pounding.. Hammer on!
3/15/2010: Its official, dear Hammer Schlammers! Thanks
to your support, brainstorming, prayers, ideas, and positive
energy, Burning Man has announced that it has selected our own
Ein Hammer art installation for Honorarium Grant Funding! Woot
diddy woot!!!
I am very grateful to the Burner Community and to the Burning
Man Grant Committee for giving us the place, the talent, and the
funding TO MAKE OUR SICK-ASS DREAM COME TRUE ONCE AGAIN!!!
As you may know, Burning Man grants are only partial funding, we
are relying on individual donations and another successful
Yuris Night Reno-Compression fundraiser on April 10th
www.mutantvehicle.com/yuri.htm and
another fundraiser in June to get our funding temperature gauge
to the top so the installation will be of the same breathtaking,
mind-blowing original vision we have held in our collectively
bent brains for a few months now.
Congratulations to the other grant recipients that will soon be
announced at www.BurningMan.com .
With deep appreciation,
-Mister Jellyfish.
2/1/2010: Ordinance away! I had to call Dave King on the
phone just so he could give me the "Ein Zwei Drei" as my finger
hovered over the "send" button of the grant proposal to Burning
Man headquarters. Him, Snowlover, Magic, Killbuck, Dave Cherry, and
Nila have all been instrumental in getting the idea on paper in
a way that is both clear on the concept and exciting to read.
Here is the final video to which the proposal also has a link:
Now, while I can, I'm going to take a break and do a little
winter camping to clear my head. Wish us luck on the
grant, and thank you for your support!
1/25/2010: Grant application review went well, with some good
advice that I'm certainly taking to heart. I'm jumping out
of my beer stein with excitement over Dave King's promise to
bring a huge amount propane and fire equipment to the project,
allowing us to show an extremely high artistic "value" to the
grant committee at Burning Man. To celebrate, I purchased
this conveyor belt on eBay:
Can't you just see it now, loaded with bulky wrenches and
hammers, descending to the workers underground! Bwahahaha!
I got it pretty cheap, but the freight shipping is going to be
pricey. Nothing's too good for Ze Wėrkers!
1/16/2010: Our portion of the Ein Hammer art grant proposal is
now with our professional grant writer for review. Dave's
finishing up the propane and fire section, Maciej is bustin' out
the flame animation. After I turn it in to Burning Man near the
end of the month, I plan to take a restful winter camping trip
by myself and clear my head. Here's a preliminary night
time image by our own Maciej ("Magic"):
1/1/2010: You know your computer is slogging when you have to
close your Pandora music just to get your 3D processing to speed
up! I'm skidding into the new year by finishing up the
look of project in the Sketchup program as I get ready to submit
the grant application to Burning Man. If you're submitting
an application yourself, be sure to use their new required form.
Click
here to see pretty pics like this:
12/22/2009: It was a gathering of geeks last night as the
magnificent seven of the Ein Hammer Tech Squad huddled around a
video conference to "hammer out" a few details. The
result? A gazillion creative ways to detect a sledgehammer
strike inside the old truck tire targets. It was decided
that the only way to confirm the best one is to have a Mythbusters-style slam-off in which accelerometer, peizo,
pneumatic, optical, and speaker cone sensors are all built into
it, then we get some beer and friends over here to beat the
living sh*t out of it to see which methods are fastest and the
most hammer-proof. Sound like fun? Here's an audio
demo of what the start-up and wind-down of the spinning
hammerhead may sound like:
Another big win for the project is the inclusion of Dave King on
the crew. Dave's experience with propane driven flame
effects is extensive, and his creative input for achieving
breathtaking fire like the Shiva Vista project is a real home run
for us. Having his name on our grant application means
we're not f***ing around. Our recent Fire Squad meeting
with him, Oz, Snowlover, Cowboy and OneEyeDick went really well
and the expertise around the room finally sold me on the idea of
using LIQUID PROPANE SHOOTERS IN THE HAMMERHEAD... YIKES!
Through a strange and wonderful coincidence involving our posts
on Burning Man's E-Playa chat board and a German research
technician's Google search, there may be some truth to
underground power on the playa after all. Check out the
conversation that started at about the middle of this page:
http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=32367&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=120
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Gute Nacht!
11/29/2009: Ahhhh! It feels so good to finally turn wrench
again on yet another art project. It's about the same time
of year I started work on Zsu Zsu and Fluffer so it feels right
going into December this way. This morning I was adding
more of the visual project elements into the Sketchup program
until I realized my entire day off would be spend in front of a
computer yet again. So I went into my garage, lit a cheap
cigar, put on Soma FM and changed this:
into this:
Nothing like a little LED manipulation. Those super-bright
Piranha arrays, donated by Blackberry, are now on their third
incarnation. Since I won't know if the project is getting
a grant from Burning Man until after January, it's important
that I occupy my time with tasks that either cost nothing or
could be implemented into an alternative art project that I can
afford to fund myself (and that ain't much!).
There are lots of element gurgling to the surface now that we've
divided the 40-member crew into teams including Electronics,
Fire and Propane, Metallurgy and Sewing Squad. I'll update
some more here as the "wėrkers unite"!
Slam The Hammer!
Art like The
Ein Hammer Project requires a bundle of bucks, marks, and euros to
pull it off in a way that delights worker brothers and sisters like
you. Please click on the Paypal donation link below and make a
contribution of any size. Together, we'll make history at
Burning Man 2010 whilst speaking in
outrageous German accents!
Work Party schedule for Crew Members - Tech Tuesdays for Tech Squad
members:
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into this:
Work Party schedule for Crew Members - Tech Tuesdays for Tech Squad
members: