Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Electronic Mandalas

Italian-born, London-based multimedia artist Leonardo Ulian has been making art from electronic components. Though he has made interactive sculptures and installations which employ electronics (motors, computer fans, speakers and more), today I bring you a series of works which employ electronics (microchips, resistors, capacitors, diodes) for their esthetics rather than their capabilities.


Title: Technological mandala 04
When: March | 2012
What: Electronic components, microchip, wood frame, 60 x 57 cm


Title: Electronic mandala 01
When: November | 2011
What: Electronic components, microchip, 38 x 35 cm.


Title: Technological mandala 02 (The beginning)
When: June | 2012
What: Electronic components, microchip, wood frame, 120x120 cm

I am tempted to try and read these as circuits (and start deducing the combined effects of the components), though they are strictly art. You can tell because there is no power source, even before you try to identify the chips or deduce how these might work. In theory, one could build complex and active electronics which appeared as elegant as these mandalas. Even when I am doing something as left-brained as laying out a circuit board, I know I think about how it looks and chose wire colours for reasons of beauty... though not to say any of my circuits ever looked sufficiently elegant or symmetric to inspire contemplation, like a mandala.

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2 comments:

  1. check out Peter Vogel's work from the 70s it's essentialy this but with fully working circuits

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