Where her son flies in the sky

 On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, "the Columbus of the Cosmos" became the first human to travel into space. During his flight, Gagarin famously whistled the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows" (Russian: "Родина слышит, Родина знает"). The first two lines of the song are: "The Motherland hears, the Motherland knows/Where her son flies in the sky". The Japanese Guerilla Paparazzi, themself known as maniac voyagers, are shown here while firing flashes of salute in honor of the travelling comrade. It should be noted that we don´t see Mr. Garin in Person, instead it is a "Singing Postcard" with a recording of the radio transmission covering his flight.

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Black Rain

Black Rain from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

Black Rain is sourced from images collected by the twin satellite, solar mission, STEREO. Here we see the HI (Heliospheric Imager) visual data as it tracks interplanetary space for solar wind and CME's (coronal mass ejections) heading towards Earth. Data courtesy of courtesy of the Heliospheric Imager on the NASA STEREO mission.

Working with STEREO scientists, Semiconductor collected all the HI image data to date, revealing the journey of the satellites from their initial orientation, to their current tracing of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Solar wind, CME's, passing planets and comets orbiting the sun can be seen as background stars and the milky way pass by.

As in Semiconductors previous work 'Brilliant Noise' which looked into the sun, they work with raw scientific satellite data which has not yet been cleaned and processed for public consumption. By embracing the artefacts, calibration and phenomena of the capturing process we are reminded of the presence of the human observer who endeavors to extend our perceptions and knowledge through technological innovation.

Commissioned by Animasivo Mexico City, 2009

Semiconductor is artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt. Through moving image, sound and multi-media installations they explore the material nature of our world and how we experience it, questioning our place in the physical universe. Their unique approach has won them many awards and prestigious fellowships such as the Gulbenkian Galapagos, Smithsonian Artists Research and the NASA Space Sciences. Their work is part of several international public collections and has been exhibited globally including Venice Bienniale, The Royal Academy, Hirshhorn Museum, BBC, ICA and the Exploratorium.

(via We Find Wildness)

DL hits LA

O

ne not to miss: Directors Lounge hits LA, opening reception April 9th 6-9pm
Directors Lounge is screening assorted highlights at the prestigious Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) as part of  NOT A CAR, a special all-media, cross-cultural exhibition featuring the highlights from our partners, the C.A.R. art fair in Essen, Germany, alongside original contemporary artworks by Los Angeles artists debuting at Gallery 825 on April 9, 2011. Exhibit runs through April 29, 2011.

pictured: some frames from
Eine Geisha wird gefilmt, a geisha being filmed by André Werner , 1993, 2 min 50 s