Concept
LU.KI.DUS. is a live cinema and sound performance exploring the audiovisual potential of microscopic imagery. It is a meditation on pattern, scales, and natural processes.
Juan Manuel Escalante and I performed the microscope using a variety of chemical reactions and found materials. The performance took place in the transLAB at University of California Santa Barbara on May 29, 2015.
Development
A system was developed to control the position of a compound biological microscope's stage using a trackpad while capturing and manipulating image data from a dSLR mounted above the trinocular port. With the help of Akshay Cadambi, we designed 3d printed gears that affix to the stage position knobs and driven by two stepper motors and two Arduino Unos. I controlled the microscope and executed chemical reactions while Juan Manuel played the score and controlled the visual effects.
For an in-depth look at the thematic and musical composition, please see Juan Manuel's LU.KI.DUS page.
Team
Role: Concept, system design, software engineering, Arduino programming, fabrication, photomicrography
Juan Manuel Escalante: Concept, system design, software engineering, composition and musical performance
Akshay Cadambi: Mechatronics advisor
A live cinema and sound performance focusing on scale, pattern, and awareness. We developed a technique to automate a microscope’s stage position through computer controlled motors. Our goals revolve around exposing the unseen yet omnipresent events which unfold at the microscopic scale. We will be crafting a distinctive kind of microscopic world that leans more towards the experimental rather than scientific. Media Arts and Technology / Graduate Program University of California, Santa Barbara Authors: Juan Manuel Escalante (JME) / Kurt Kaminski (KK) Music: (JME) Chemicals and reactions: (KK) Mechanical advisor: Akshay Cadambi With the support of the following MAT Faculty: Ted Kim, Andres Cabrera, Marcos Novak, Matt Wright Special thanks to: Fabian Offert, Matthias Wagner, Rodger Luo mmxv www.realitat.com / www.kurtkaminski.com
Photograph: Curtis Roads
