Human, capacitor (2021). I am sewing a series of plush electronic components to create a sculptural circuit garden in the style of Claes Oldenburg. Electronic devices make great metaphors for the human condition. It’s everywhere in our language: you have great energy // human potential // I’m on your wavelength // we are polar opposites // resistance to change vs. capacity for change // our attraction is electric // be positive, have good vibes, etc. Humans are symbiotic with electricity! The universe is a circuit! Resonance, charge, flux, capacity, resistance, frequency, vibration, flow, magnetism, current… We are the human electric.
human
Art has never been more important /
Humans invent tools that invent new humans. While this dynamic has shaped civilization for centuries, the invention of artificial intelligence is forcing a radical shift in consciousness. Thinking machines are inventing the new human mind. For the first time in recorded history, our inventions are invading the very fiber of our being. Machines are re-scripting the story of life, biologically and psychologically. We are no longer the children of nature. Together with our machines, we are re-inventing nature; and Frankenstein promises to re-invent us in return. History will look back on this time as a definitive break in the archetypal canon, but with what understanding? If technology advances without interruption, our time will mark a period of tremendous enlightenment. If technology is interrupted, our time will be mythological and truly unbelievable. The legacy of our civilization is sublimating into fragile machine memory. It has never been more important to record who we are now.
Kelly Heaton, January 2018
therapy session /
The Therapy Session, 2017. Watercolor sketch on paper
plug mask /
Plug Mask (in process), 2017. Cardboard, wood, and paint construction.
Climate Change in Antarctica /
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
Human Electric /
Human Electric, 2017. Oil on canvas, 14" x 14"
As many of you know, I have been obsessed with electronics for decades. Electricity is amazing in its natural form: it is literally the spark of life. Electricity is amazing as a human tool: arguably the most important invention since fire, and possibly the catalyst for a new species of human being.
Here, I paint a still-life with vintage electronic components arranged in what is called a "breadboard" : a plug-and-play platform for engineers to design circuits. My components are arranged for purely aesthetic reasons... and aren't they beautiful? I love their human qualities. That's my hand holding the breadboard - with paint on it, of course.
Who are we becoming? /
Untitled portrait of an other woman, 2017
A couple of old resistors /
A couple of old resistors, 2017. Colored pencil and gouache on paper