Gankum Style

dark matter in VR

So the virtual reality will begin as a grid in witch everyone is given an identical house. Like suburbia. one for every human on the planet.....

The houses and their yards will all be the same and not that big.

The world will expaND in the exsact same way that dark matter and dark energy is expanding our physical universe.....

Where the land does not get bigger, but instead, the empty space in between each plot of land expands.

We call it the borders, or the property lines.

But I was trying to think of how it could expand in a democratizing way, rather than just letting people buy more land and then the rich getting more and more.

So Time itself will be the democratizing catalyst of the expantion of vertual space.

As time moves forward, each users land will get bigger.

Users can edit their own land, but they are all given the same thing to start out with.

Many will chose to have a "normal" house. Good for them LOL

This way of expansion will be in harmony with both Einstien's idea of space and time being the same thing.... and also agrees with quantum physics and string theory.

To have a virtual world that is truly dynamic, it needs to include even the most strange of Physical laws.

This allows for full freedom, Creativity and hemoginy.

Facebook is what made me think of all of this.

You have a personal space (your wall) that expands over time. And you have a public space. You can also visit other peoples spaces, like teleporting but it is called "going to someone's page"

Lamp

prim textured hairs

Monkey painting on paper

Initial outlines of my monkey and banana background.

                                          I decided to add some details onto the bananas.

Now I have added the oil paint and the monkey really comes alive but it doesn't seem bold enough yet.

Peoblems with Phoenix Viewer

I love this wallet chain!!!!

Freenis :0

El Chingadero!!!

Chicken in Blue

Pics of me

Thoughts about a quote

    Last night I was driving home from work. I had a quote running through my mind when I stopped to get coffee.
 
 "With the kinds of problems facing the world....if the expansion if consciousness does not loom large in the human future, then what kind of future is it going to be???" --- Terence Mckenna ---
 
 I was thinking about this as I stopped at Starbucks to get coffee. I was just going to get the coffee to go, but in the parking lot I decided to sit and write my ideas. Basically, I realized that even though people like Mckenna (from Socrates to Hawking) have contributed so much to the intellectual landscape that we live in, there is still another part to be played. Being an eloquent genius who writes philosophical volumes or recites the calculus in their sleep is not a requirement for contribution to the architecture of civilization. I see that there is a part to be played that is more suited to the common yet thoughtful, modern person.  I love to learn and try to soak up every bit of knowledge that I can but have many times had the intimidating suspicion that these thinkers of the past had some ability to enter their ideas and conclusions into the database of human knowledge that I probably don't and won't ever have. This ability usually seems to be a mixture of brilliance and being in the right place at the right time. Being in the right place at the right time means that they were interested in a subject that was ready to yield leaps in insight or discovery. Many times this was made possible by wealth and influence in the form of resources, formal education and connections.

Here is my writing:
 
    "With the kinds of problems facing the world....if the expansion if consciousness does not loom large in the human future, then what kind of future is it going to be???" --- Terence Mckenna ---
    And it is clear to me that the spreading of memes will be the primary catalyst for the salvation of the species. As an artist and thinker, my basic function is the acquisition, processing and spreading of memes. If I am doing any of these things, then I am doing art. The artist is the rudder of humanity whose job it is to direct the corse of civilization, to guide the flow of culture. I was shocked to read this paraphrased idea in the introduction to a humanities textbook when I was about 20. Arrogance? Megolomaniacal? No. The march towards greater consciousness is inevitable and it's responsibility rests on the shoulders of no individual (luckily). But it can be helped along by each thoughtful mind adding into the stream.
    The ideas of great thinkers of the past are many but there is still so much to do. To use art of every medium to translate, sift and reconfigure the data. To make them accessible to every kind of mind. To cast light on analogies and connections that had not been seen before. Technology will  enable and create new forms of media that will uncover new insights, in an unending feedback loop of creativity and information.

Light speed as Lag.

This is a journal entry from 1-12-2012
Light speed and Time:
     Why does gravity warp space-time? Maybe mass is the effect of too many atoms "lagging the Sim". Too many particles packed in a given spacial vicinity so that there is "Lag". The Lag makes the actual orbits of the sub-atomic particles move more slowly in relation to how fast the substrate or fabric of space-time is able to process their movements. This would fit into the "universe as a computer simulation theory" and an analog of this can be easily seen is Second Life. I am curious when ever there are such close and suspicious analogies between one type of phenomenon and another.
    In Second Life, there is Lag (a slowing of perceived time) when ever there are to many scripts, avatars particles and objects in a given place. Each place has a certain amount of stuff that it can process and handle. So then the question is,  In physics is there some thresh hold of what the fabric of space-time can process/handle? Perhaps there is some ideal capacity, that once surpassed, can be experienced as a sort of Lag, or slowing of time. If the space-time substrate it's self needs to calculate the sub atomic activity, then excessive calculations would take more "time" in relation to the surrounding, more empty space. This would not really be slower, except in relation to some other area. This is how things are proven to work in the physical Universe and in Second Life. But to assume anything more than coincidence..... That is crazy!!!!!!!!!!! Hahhaha!

Quote From Terence Mckenna on Virtual Reality

         "What I see coming out of VR (Virtual Reality) is a technology by which we can show eachother the inside of our own heads. That's what it promises. I can imagine a a world where around age 6 or 7 a child begins to build their virtual reality. Well, by the time they're 25, it would be half the size of Manhattan and it would be more YOU than your body. I mean after all, we don't really identify do we, with 145 pounds of monkey flesh. That is not YOU. You are your hopes, your fears, the inner soul, the poetry. So I can imagine a world where if you were seriously interested in having a relationship with somebody, you would invite them into your reality and say......'This is me. Stroll around. Check the levels. This is the museum and the spa. And see what you think'......"
                    -----Terence Mckenna, 1994----

Shimji Side Table

"Shimji" Side Table L-30” W-24” H-21

This is an original hand made steel table with beautiful ceramic tiles made Christina Devine. The shape of the piece has a oriental look about it.  The sheet metal skirt has an amazing patina of organic shaped patterns. 

The structure is sturdy and well made, so it’s perfect indoor or on the patio.      

      The entire piece is sealed thoroughly, so the beautiful finish is safe and won’t stain any other furniture or flooring.

Here is a view of the ceramic top:

"Overhang" Sculptural Coffee Table

"Overhang" Handmade Steel and Ceramic Tile Sculptural Coffee Table.
This unique, sculptural coffee table was inspired by simple design elements of the common freeway overpass, during a drive through Phoenix, AZ.

 Part of what makes this table so enjoyable is that two people, sitting opposite to each other, both have their own personal surfaces to enjoy, as well as sharing the large top. Here is a view from above.

 The colors and pattens of Christina’s handmade ceramic tiles are truly amazing. 

    This piece is the perfect example of our quest to blur the lines between furniture and sculpture.

L-36” x W-25” x H-18”

This piece was made in 2008.    

Original Hand Made Ceramic Tile and Steel Coffee Table

Original Hand Made Ceramic Tile and Steel Coffee Table made in 2007. 

This is one of the first tables that I made in collaboration with ceramic artist Christina Devine. It was made in 2007. The top is all hand made ceramic tile and the body of the table is welded, reclaimed metal. 

Here is a close up view of the top:

And here is a view of one of the feet:

This table was sold on ETSY, on May 10th 2008.

Desert Fence Posts-steel table

I made this table with ceramic artist, Christina Devine, in around 2007 or 2008. She Made the tile top and I made the rest out of steel. This beautiful table is a perfect example of how found material can be incorporated into furniture. The thing that really attracted us about this common fence post that I used to form parts of the legs and skirt of this piece, was the green color of it, as well as the lugs running in a raised border through the center of the post. These qualities are given emphasis and enhanced by their placement in combination with other complementary metal elements. The green color was sacrificed on the legs in order to obtain a more mellow bronze-like luster. This table base has a lovely, dark glow to it that is set off by the colors of the tile top. The green of the metal border, with it’s repeating pattern, accords with the large green tile and it’s series of raised dots which is found above. The reddish brown of the metal harmonizes with the different browns and off-whites of the tile. This play between color and material is continued on a metaphorical level in the relationship of the tile and the metal.

. 




Dimensions: L-31” x W-17” x H-18”

Handmade Ceramic Tile and Steel Tea Ceremony Table

Here is a table that I made in collaboration with ceramic artist, Christina Devine in 2007 or so. 

This lovely and simple table is very low to the ground. It is ideal for sitting at cross legged on pillows while you drink your tea. The tile on top is reminiscent of an old painting one might find on a scroll in the Far East. The table would also look beautiful in a garden setting as a small sculpture set among plants or rocks. The steel base is an elegant example of how found objects can be combined with stock material to form a whole new form. I fabricated rings and bent steel rod in order to support the oversized bolts which have become legs for this piece. A large cast iron machine part frames the tile and is a major component of the table top. It is given prominence by the subtly and reticence of these ingenious legs. The top seems to hover there a few inches above the ground. Seen from the side, these legs have a pleasing and graceful strength to them as well.

Dimensions: Lenth-23” x Width-23” x Highth-8”

I sold the table on March 19, 2008 on Etsy for $700. USD to a client in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Here is a close up view of Christina's ceramic work:

And here is a close up of one of the legs:

Elegance of Technology Steel and Ceramic Tile Coffee Table

This is the first table that I made in collaboration with ceramic artist, Christina Devine. It was around 2007 or so.

In this table, we wanted to communicate the elegance of technology when it embraces Nature rather than attempting to dominate or subjugate it. The base is made of steel that I ground and polished thoroughly, before and after welding it. Some of the staining and pitting caused by many years of oxidation was purposely left on the legs, feet and one side of the table skirt because of the contrast it provides to the mirror like finish of the other three sides and to the mechanical bracing pieces gripping the edges of the tabletop.
The tile is hand made by my partner, the ceramic artist Christina Devine. The blue, green and beige of the glazes that she used harmonize with the gentle sheen of the steel bracing. Patterns of perforation in the metal is echoed in the more organic and random circle impressions found in the tile. The combination of glossy and matt glazes used on these tiles is mirrored by the soft, smooth finish I used on the steel.

Size: 36”L x 16”W x 19”H

We sold the table on Etsy to a client in Henrieville, Utah on Feb 6, 2008 for 900.00 USD not including shipping.

Dinnerware Artspace Solo Exhibition 2012

I have been working with David Aguirre for the past monthn or so, preparing the new Dinnerware space. http://dinnerwareartspace.blogspot.com/  The new location is at 425 W. 6th St.  We started out by installing insulation and drywall on the ceiling. In the area that was to become the gallery, the walls were made of yellow cinder block. So I framed them with 2"x3" inch wood, hung sheets of drywall and plastered them. Pia helped paint the walls. During the remodel of the building I came on several nights to work on my painting, entitled, "The Million-Year Apprenticeship". The large painting shown in the above photo. 

The space was ready the day before the first art show. I went early in the day on Saturday the 2nd of June to hang my art and the opening was at 6pm that evening. The show started an people began showing up. There were three food trucks and it was really hot out. Once the sun began to go down, I started feeling better and more energetic and social.

I had planned to sell the raffle tickets, that I had made and set out, for a contest where someone could win one of my 8 oil on paper paintings. However, because the heat of the afternoon, I didn't feel like doing anything to encourage that, until a woman asked me about them and decided to buy ten tickets and then people got really excited about it and bought a bunch of tickets. They really loved the whole raffle ticket thing. And I started feeling better about it, and the whole show in general. 

The raffle ticket situation, was that whoever win would be able to choose any one of these 8 oil on paper pieces. I sold the tickets for $1 each. The raffle ticket thing was so exciting that at the end of the night I decided to draw two tickets for two winners. The two that ended up being chosen were "Network" [top row, 2nd from left] and "Connection" [bottom row, 3rd from left].  During the show, I also sold "Chat Stream" [top, 3rd from left] and an oil painting on wood called "Under the Bed" http://neilcollinsartist.blogspot.com/2010/10/under-bed.html

Overall, the show went really good, I'm really excited about the work and it was a wonderful way to initiate the new Dinnerware location. 

A peek into the dreaming of humanity.

So, a thought that I just had: Looking around at some of the stranger regions of Youtube, I really get the feeling like I am peering into the subconscious of the human race. It is like getting a glimpse into the collective dreaming of our species. I get this feeling when ever I search on Youtube for anything related to science or intellectual thoughts and the "related video" choices on the right of the screen become weirder and weirder as I jump from video link to video link. I am in awe over the mind boggling abundance of imagination in the form of videos about time travelers exposed, Illuminatus conspiracies, suppressed alien plots and sightings, etc.... It seems that the list is endless in amount and variety. There is also an aspect to it that resembles the Dada and Surrealist methods of collage, where anything and everything is fair game for creating new combinations of absurdity. There are endless apocalyptic "2012 Time of Change" rants, but this is just scratching the surface. From there begins the impressive unravelling of logic and reason. There is the hollow Earth theory, Moon landing hoax, Reptilian overlord race controlling the world governments, Human Extraterrestrial Origin, Messages of brotherhood from the Pleiadians, enough government conspiracies of the Illuminatus to drown a whale, and let's not even get into the Christian stuff. It isn't so strange that all of these ideas are out there, but that there is SO MUCH of it!! Any combination imaginable and hundreds of videos on each topic, each having their own mile-long comment streams. Looking at this endless procession of "warnings" and "Secrets" is really like looking into the dreams of the collective psyche. It is like the human race is in an explosion of imagination and creativity, deep in some hyper active form of REM sleep. Just another of the ways that the internet is connecting the human race into one super-organism, and this is what it looks like to watch that organism dream.