Synaptic Movement

Abstract:
The project looks at Automata of the 18th Century and the work of the clock maker Pierre Jacquet-Droz. His Automatons, including others from Vaucanson and Von Kempelen, fulfill a desire to understanding the world in a mechanical way. My initial focus was on the movement of these Writer’s, Drawers and Digesters, and what was it about the actions of these somewhat aesthetically life like figures that evoke such a ‘pleasurable’ response from the public. For me it’s this uncanny movement of the automaton that responds to our psyche. Freud and Jentsch define the uncanny as a response to the unfamiliar, the ‘unhomely’, a fear of the unknown. Freud relates this human response to a human repression of familiar elements of our childhood that are now reintroduced out of context. A human response is seen in public reaction to Descartes’ mechanized doll of his late daughter, and the talking doll of Thomas Edison. The uncanny nature of these examples seems to be related to the spontaneous motion or self-movement that is expressed. The oxford English dictionary defines automaton as “a piece of mechanism having its motive power so concealed that it appears to move spontaneously. In 17-18th c. applied to clocks, watches, etc.

The monster is a working model for acquiring random, self-movement: through the combination of motions of two vivisected devices. Both devices are moving toys, that have been reduced to the simple gear and motor cases that create their movement. Photovoltaic sensors are used to stimulate movement within each device, which stimulates movement between each other. Self-motivated movement is explored through reversing the motor direction of these devices, adding to the variety of motion. The use of tilt switches was introduced, and the fabrication of transparent tilt switches lead to an expression of movement of the circuit. The expression of motion through a chain of events through switches and motors allows for a more self motivated movement: like the blood of an android pumping through its veins. Further exploration will focus on replacing some parts of the body with movement-activated switches, to transfer more of the motion of the devices into the overall movement of the monster. Continued research is looking at the uncanny in relation to psychological case studies like that of Joey the mechanical boy. Joey behaves autistically, like a robot, where he uses mechanical devices to interact with the outside world. Joey is interesting for his discussion about interface, and how we interface with the world. Is there control in our behavior and is their control in the mechanisms that create our movement? Is that what distinguishes us from automata? The motion of the circuit allows for an exploration of this metaphorical nervous system, and how synaptic movement can lead to a voluntary movement evoked by an outside response.