Research Notes
Mitchell Gilbert Messina

Research notes from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency, June 1, 2023–August 25, 2023.

Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Screenshots of William Kentridge’s _Drawing Lesson One: In Praise of Shadows_ from his Norton Lecture series in 2012, where torn pieces of black paper are repeatedly reconfigured to evoke the form of a horse.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. (1) Image of Tim Hunkin, creator of _The Secret Life of Components_, standing next to his_ AIR B’N’BUG_ machine at Novelty Automation. (2) Initial sketches for a show about things that move. (3) Images of Paul Chan’s _Khara En Penta (Joyer in 5)_ (2019) from the exhibition _Paul Chan: Breathers_ at Walker Art Centre in 2023.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Notes toward expanding the scope of movements that could be looked at. Includes an idea around using a parade/procession/march as a model for the exhibition, where a collective of bodies in organised motion can communicate singular ideas.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Pages from the catalogue for MOMA’s 1968 exhibition _The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age_. Curated by K.G. Pontus Hultén, the exhibition looked at the relationship between art and technology, and the shift from mechanical machines (imitating our muscles) to electronic and chemical devices (imitating our brain and nervous systems).
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Images of _Nicolas Schöffer’s CYSP 1_ (1956) Commonly considered the first cybernetic sculpture in art history, the work could react to colours, sounds and light via a series of sensors. The work was included in _Cybernetic Serendipity_, an exhibition of cybernetic art curated by Jasia Reichardt at the ICA in 1968.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Images of Nam June Paik’s_ Robot K-456 _(1964-1996). The work was included in _Cybernetic Serendipity_, an exhibition of cybernetic art curated by Jasia Reichardt at the ICA in 1968.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Jean Tinguely, Méta-matic no. 10, 1959, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The work was included in _Cybernetic Serendipity_, an exhibition of cybernetic art curated by Jasia Reichardt at the ICA in 1968.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Images of: (1) Roman Signer’s _Unfall als Skulptur (Accident as Sculpture)_, 2008, in which a Piaggio van with four casks of water descends a 11m ramp and lands on its roof. (2) Signer’s _Kerze (Candle)_, 1985 where a candle is accompanied by a pump, placed at extinguishing height. (3) Signer’s _Tisch mit Raketen (Table with Rocket)_, 1993, where a table is turned into a projectile.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Images of (1) Marcel Duchamp’s _Bicycle Wheel_, 1913 alongside (2) Shigeko Kubota’s _Duchampiana: Bicycle Wheel One_, 1990 a single-channel video, (3) Shigeko Kubota’s _Video Haiku–Hanging Piece_, 1981 and (4) Kristofer Polhem’s _Letters from Mechanical Alphabet_, 1772-1779.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. A 1968 reconstruction of Vladimir Tatlin’s _Monument for the Third International_, the original of which was destroyed in 1920. The page is taken from MOMA’s catalogue for _The machine, as seen at the end of the mechanical age_.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. (1) Snapshots of moving objects from the 1987 short _Der Lauf Der Dinge (The Way Things Go)_ by Fischli & Weiss, accompanied by an installation view of the objects used. (2) From the collection of Larry Seidman, _VIVE LE ROI_ is a hand coloured pull tab slat-transformation movable card from 1815.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Posters for two events hosted by Survival Research Laboratories, an organisation of artists and creative technicians founded in 1978 by Mark Pauline.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Images of: (1) a Bot built by Mel Saunders which could move and detect objects. The image was found on a forum while searching documentation on how to best connect a Tamiya Twin Gearbox to an Arduino Uno. (2) Installation view of Rigobert Nimi’s _Explorer 5_, 2021, photographed by Savannah van der Niet.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. The arcade cabinet as a device for interaction and animation. An image of the original _Mike Builds a Shelter_ (1983) arcade machine, considered the ‘first art videogame’. Made by artist Mike Smith, computer graphics designer Dov Jacobson, and programmer Reza Keshavarz, and developed for the exhibition _GOVERNMENT APPROVED HOME FALLOUT SHELTER AND SNACK BAR_.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. The table-top as an arena for movement. Images of: (1) Siqi (Scott ) Chen’s _Reimagining the ‘Incompiuto Siciliano Archaeological Park’ _a two-player board game inspired by Carcassonne. (2) A player measuring range of motion in the table-top game _Warhammer_, taken from the NY Times article _Who’s Up for a Round of Warhammer_. (3) A sculpture of a glove made by the artist.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Making sound by moving electricity. Images of: (1) A Moog Synthesiser, found while researching Wendy Carlos’s 1968 album _Switched-On Bach._ (2) Two instruments designed by Korg engineer Tatsuya Takahashi. (3) A reminder to talk to Fernando about synthesisers and sound. (4) Ulla Wiggen’s paintings_ Förstärkare (Amplifier)_, 1964, _Pulsgivare (Pulse generator)_ 1967, and _TRASK (Transistorized sequence calculator)_, 1967.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. The movement of ideas as instructionals and guides. Images of: (1) Low Tech Magazine’s solar-powered website, and a guide on how to build your own. (2) Projects from Then Try This (Formerly The FoAM Kernow Studio), including the schematics for modifying a kayak to play sounds recorded under the water. (3) Various tools listed on Farm Hack, a website for where the farming community can share modifications and hacks to their tools.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Two pages taken from the catalogue for _Cybernetic Serendipity_, an exhibition of cybernetic art curated by Jasia Reichardt at the ICA in 1968. The right page contains images of Ulla Wiggens’ _TRASK (Transistorized sequence calculator)_ and _Vägledare (Micro-circuit) _paintings from 1967. The left page contains writing on _Computer Dance_, where Jeanne H. Beaman and Dale Isner programmed a computer to generate choreography for dancers.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Several images of works by Trisha Brown, including (1) _Untitled (Set One)_ and_ Untitled (Set Two)_, soft ground etchings from 2006 that capture the motion of feet. (2) _Drawing for a Circle_, a 1973 instructional text/choreography. (3) Poster for _Trisha Brown Company_ designed by Robert Rauschenberg. (4) Stills from _Walking on the Wall_, where harnessed performers stood, walked and ran across the walls. (5) _Spanish Dance, part of Accumulating Pieces, _1973,_  _where each dancer slowly moves into the next, with an image of a performance of the work.
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. A note to test what happens when one projector projects its image onto another’s - with the hope of moving both projectors (ideally via a motion controlled rig, allowing for timed movements).
Installation photograph from Mitchell Gilbert Messina's residency in A4 Art Foundation shows a wall-mounted strip of cardboard hosting pinned research notes. Movement with puppetry and theatre. Notes toward a black box theatre display for puppets, alongside an image of Nathan Lane’s play _Pictures From Home._
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