electrcity

Breadbird (No. 1), 2020 /  by kelly heaton

Sound on. “Breadbird (No. 1),” 2020. In order to convey the core of my electronic practice, I built this demonstration piece featuring five oscillators and an audio transformer circuit. The oscillators have adjustable base resistors which enable me to alter the pattern (and therefore the song). Does this oscillating circuit have something in common with bird neurology?

Climate Change in Antarctica /  by kelly heaton

Kelly Heaton, "Climate Change (Penguins)," 2017. Digital photocollage comprised of an electronic circuit, a photo of Emperor Penguins in Antarctica, and pixel manipulation

Kelly Heaton, "Climate Change (Penguins)," 2017. Digital photocollage comprised of an electronic circuit, a photo of Emperor Penguins in Antarctica, and pixel manipulation

Emperor penguins may disappear by the end of this century

By Lakshmi SupriyaJul. 7, 2017 , 10:30 AM

Emperor penguins are known for braving the harsh Antarctic winters, but they might not be able to brave the harsh realities of climate change. That’s the finding of a new study, which suggests that by the end of this century, the world’s largest penguins may be no more. Previous research suggested that rapidly warming air and sea temperatures—which melt sea ice—might cause their numbers to plummet by as much as 19% by 2100. But a new model looks at other factors, including how individual penguins deal with climate change by migrating to places with optimal sea ice coverage. In their model of potential penguin migrations, researchers looked at how far penguins typically go and what factors figure in their decisions. They used data previously collected from Pointe Géologie in Antarctica along with satellite images of penguin colonies that revealed information about their traveling and foraging behavior. The model projects that for the next 2 decades, populations will remain stable, and may even increase slightly as the penguins move to locations that are more habitable. After 2050, it all goes downhill. Although the rate of population decline may vary, by the year 2100 almost all emperor penguins may be gone, the researchers write in an upcoming issue of Biological Conservation. That’s because climate change will have rendered all their habitats inhospitable by then. Gaining endangered status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the scientists say, may be one way of arresting what might otherwise be their final march.

Posted in: 

DOI: 10.1126/science.aan7070
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/emperor-penguins-may-disappear-end-century

open studio: boy meets girl /  by kelly heaton

Boy Meets Girl (2 Knobs with Variable Resistance), 2016. Colored pencil, graphite, and gouache on paper.  11" x 15"

This drawing is a study of potentiometers and their knobs as a metaphor for people and their personas. A potentiometer is a device that is used to adjust (vary) resistance in a circuit. Volume knobs are potentiometers. Or, more accurately, a volume knob is mounted into the shaft of a potentiometer to facilitate easy adjustment. In order than the entire mechanism doesn't turn when you twist the knob, potentiometers (aka "pots") are mounted into some kind of panel. Most people only see the knob mounted onto the panel, and are never privy to the pot behind -- which is the real story. 

Relationships are similar. We hide our true selves behind a rigid panel, a wall, presenting others with a knob, or persona, with which to interact. Other factors twist our knob, represented here by a bunch of thumbs in the sky. Maybe God, maybe fate, maybe spirits ... who knows. In my drawing, I included a spark gap in the foreground which will ignite if the boy's and girl's knobs are properly adusted. If they are turned on, so to speak, ;-)