Luiza
Benisano
Art 345
Final Project
December
17, 2014
For my final project I chose to do
circuit-bending. I chose this because I thought it was such an unconventional “art
work” because circuit-bending has nothing to do with creativity, but it consists
of you finding points to put together. I also wanted to try something new since
I have never worked with a circuit board. Before doing the project we watched
circuit bending videos made by artists and I thought it was so cool how you can
mess with sound. My material was a pink teddy bear. I thought it was a fitting
choice because it was inexpensive. I also really like teddy bears and wanted to
work with something that I could give a personal touch. I also chose the bear
because it emanated baby songs. This reminded me so much of my best friend who
is due anytime. Initially it took me maybe 4 or 5 days to complete the work. In
all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing at first. I think that is why it
took me the longest time to figure it out. The starting point was to be able to
take out the teddy and bear and disassemble the parts that was neatly tucked
inside the teddy bear. Originally I was not sure that my project would be
successful because prior to this project, I tried to circuit-bend and mini-toy
car but I failed. It did not work at all. This final project was only my second
try at circuit-bending. Thankfully, attaching the wires the jack was a success.
The music of the teddy bear was transparent and working through the speakers.
My next job was to find two points that I can short-circuit. On day one I was
able to successfully find two points. I wasn’t all too great with soldering
either so that took time too. Those first two points I created was similar to a
switch as I had a dry run with it. The two points lit up by the switch of the
buttons, meaning that the light would transfer by the switch of the button. The
sound too would get warped as I would toggle the switch. With this first try, I
thought a mini-switch was the most fitting to use so I soldered one on. The
following day, it stopped working and I could not figure out why. I came to the
conclusion after that it may just be that I created a permanent short-circuit.
I had to unsolder the material. The result was that my two points did in fact
create a permanent on and off switch so for those two points I had to use a
button that adjusts the volume control, a potentiometer switch. For the other
part of my work, I had to find other points to circuit-bend. I was able to find
them eventually. For my other points I had to use mini volume control buttons,
wheel potentiometer. The end result of that was that I had three buttons for
functions. The switch potentiometer was used for turning up and turning down
the volume, and the two wheel potentiometers were meant to mess with and
distort the sound of the baby rhymes. That whole process approximately took me
three days, which was not too bad. The difficulty that I had with making this
project is that there are wires everywhere and so it is easy for them to get
all tangled up, which probably explains why at one point the circuit board
stopped working because the wire for the speaker got pulled out. Thankfully
they worked after I soldered them back on. The most difficulty I had with the
project was that it would seem that I would find two points to circuit-bend and
so I solder them on only to find that they are not working at all. The whole
process of creating circuit-bending work is that it is a hit or miss and a
trial by error basis. I would have wired working one day only for me to find it
not working the next. By the time I presented it for finals, only one wheel
potentiometer was working. Fortunately, the switch potentiometer was still
working as well. I performed it and it presented my ultimate goal, which was to
warp the sound of the baby rhymes. In essence, I enjoyed making the project
because I learned how to circuit-bend. I’ve also never seen the insides of toys
that play music and light up and it so it was fun for me to mess around with
it. My only regret with the project was not putting the circuit board back
which made my work unaesthetically pleasing. My original idea for that was to
put the two wheel potentiometers on each ear of the teddy bear and the switch
potentiometer to be in front to make it look like the teddy bear’s penis to
make it a humorous aesthetic. But then again, I’ve learned my lesson in that
the wires and working with them is a hit or miss thing. I did not want to risk
my whole project not working for the sake of putting it inside a teddy bear.
Overall, I was pleased with the experience. My favorite part of doing this
project was finally getting to master to solder without creating giant blobs
for the wires to get lost on. I thought that whole process was the most
artistic of all. This is personally something I would want to do as like a
hobby. The sounds that I was able to create or warp I should say was incredibly
creepy sounding baby rhymes. The points that I circuit-bended slowed down and
warped the sound of the baby rhymes. It sounded like the rhymes were meant to
scare you in my opinion. One thing I wish that worked with my material were the
lights. Originally the bear would light up too, but I think from creating my
first two points, which resulted in the volume, I ended up creating a permanent
off-switch for the lights. If that had worked, it would have been more
aesthetically pleasing and frightening, which was kind of my overall goal. Nevertheless,
my material worked and I am pleased with the end result of the sound.
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