Berlin's Tesla gallery hosts ghostly techno-art

Do you like art? Do you like mystery? Do you like technology? We get the impression that at least some of you are either nodding in agreement, or mouthing the words, "Yes I do," over and over. If you're one of those lucky few, here's some information you might enjoy. Two artists at the Tesla gallery in Berlin have created fairly interesting works which also happen to have connections with technology and our perception of technology. The first is called Digit, wherein a writer sits at a table and runs his hand over a blank piece of paper; as his hand moves down the page, words appears as if by magic, though no mechanism for writing is visible to an observer. In the second piece, artist Martin Riches has created a random number generator, a complex system of wood and string which allows a steel ball to propel through the machine, eventually playing one of three instruments when its journey comes to an end. Interesting stuff, surely... but can it play Doom?

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 18th 2007 7:41AM]

No, but I understand it blends like a bastard.

[Mike @ Sep 18th 2007 8:58AM]

WARNING (off topic flame-bait): Those "Will It Blend?" videos are so moronic, I only watched one and felt like I lost brain capacity for having done so. I've never seen anything so not-funny and not-entertaining as those vid's. Why people continue to quote and play on those clips, I have no idea. I'd like to do the internet a favor and see if the guy who came up with the idea for those videos can blend. Maybe I'll make some "Will It Bake?" vid's and put an iPhone in the oven...or "Will It Flatten?" and hit a PS3 with a hammer...because apparently people will watch anything on YouTube.

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 18th 2007 9:30AM]

Mike, at the risk of wringing the last of the funny out of this by explaining it to death:

I said it to lampoon that very thing, just like the Doom reference was doing.
(It's a thing I do.)

Idiots will always be with us. You can be driven crazy by them, or you can laugh at them.

I choose the latter.

[Ken @ Sep 18th 2007 9:32AM]

I eagerly await "Will It Bake?" with our host, Mike.

Past of what Rachel Ray so emminantly watchable (besides betting on when her Xanax will wear off) is the repeated use of phrases "YUM-O", "EVOO", and "Sammies." Perhaps if you'd work a zany drug dependency or cutesy phrases into your "Will It Bake" video, we'll flock to you in droves.

The smell of melting plastic from your iPhone at 425'F for 20 minutes should work just as well as any pill from Rachel's medicine cabinet.

[ethana2 @ Sep 18th 2007 11:13AM]

Oh. You know, I'm one of the guys that's always asking if it can blend... but I had no clue the videos existed. I ask the question because the answer is an indication of how thoroughly you own the hardware. For instance: the XBOX 360-- can it blend? No. So it's worthless, imo.

If something can blend, it means that it A:Has an MMU, B.Has an OpenGL compliant GPU and driver, and C.Does not use code signing.

Sorry if it's been wearing on you... I try not to ask it of things where the answer is overly obvious.

[Kevin @ Sep 18th 2007 11:19AM]

I've got one word for you, Mike: XANAX.

It's a joke. Yeah, maybe it's old, maybe it's not something you find funny, but it's damn certainly NOT something to have a coronary over.

[Grizz @ Sep 18th 2007 8:36AM]

The joke at the end is a little strong after a long paragraph of very light jokes. Better luck next time. =-)

[Broken Haiku @ Sep 18th 2007 9:24AM]

Will Mike blend?

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 18th 2007 9:31AM]

I don't even know if he plays Doom!

(Oops, there I go again!)

[ethana2 @ Sep 18th 2007 11:17AM]

There's an idea-- one usually doesn't ask those questions of people...

"I can hold down a steady job, keep up with bills, raise two kids..."
"Yes, but can you play /doom/? Can you /blend/??"

Actually... that could be a good measure of how technologically competent a person is... hmm...

[victor @ Sep 18th 2007 10:25AM]

back to the topic at hand... Tesla was a really cool guy. This looks quite interesting, and as an amateur magician, I'm wondering how they do the paper thing. I also wonder what will happen to magic once e-ink and the entire apparatus can fit into a playing card. It is inevitable, and will make "pasteboard" tricks pretty obsolete.

[rp @ Sep 18th 2007 2:11PM]

I'm guessing that the dude who waves his hand over the piece of paper is palming an infrared light that activates the invisible ink. Or some sort of other invisible catalyst on his palm that does essentially the same thing. Technology, yay.

[ethana2 @ Sep 18th 2007 11:23AM]

If nothing else, I appreciate that little line about doom because it tells me that the writers at engadget read comments :)

Hello, engadget! Do you see me?

[Rainier @ Sep 18th 2007 11:36AM]

How do you make corrections?

[ethana2 @ Sep 18th 2007 11:50AM]

You cannot. Bugs the heck out of me too.

[Ken @ Sep 18th 2007 11:51AM]

White Out [tm] ?

[Mykol @ Sep 18th 2007 12:37PM]

I watched the video, and it's not that exciting. It only really prints in one direction (he just turns the paper)... because there is no apparent printer, or noise, I assume he actually has a silent thermal printer embedded into the table. And he simply activates it with pressure from his finger. The thermal paper reacts to the heat, and text is printed. At least, that's my guess.

[George @ Sep 18th 2007 4:45PM]

The way I see it, asking if it will play Doom is a good way to determine the hackability of a gadget. The lack of third party development possibilities can be a deal breaker for me.