Motorized Morphicism: Automated Movable Panel Art Installations

Lead Author Major

Mechanical Engineering

Lead Author Status

Senior

Second Author Major

Mechanical Engineering

Second Author Status

Senior

Third Author Major

Mechanical Engineering

Third Author Status

Senior

Fourth Author Major

Mechanical Engineering

Fourth Author Status

Senior

Format

SOECS Senior Project Demonstration

Faculty Mentor Name

Kyle Watson

Faculty Mentor Department

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract/Artist Statement

This project blends Mechanical Engineering and art. The project sponsor, Jay Palefsky, is an artist based in Florida. He is a self proclaimed “Artreprenuer” that has been making and selling art through his company Morphicism. This project focuses on Jay’s one of a kind Morph Sliders. Morph Sliders consist of a wooden frame with three channels cut into the interior surfaces on the top and bottom. Paintings on gatorboard panels are mounted in these slots. There are between 8 to 16 panels depending on the size of the frame and each panel can slide back and forth in its channel or be picked up and put into a different channel by hand. This makes the art pieces easily customizable and interactive. This project modifies these art pieces to help Jay sell larger variations. Jay hopes to sell large Morph Sliders to businesses, such as restaurants, which do not want to pay employees to periodically change the art panel positions. Without the movement, a core aspect of the art is lost. This project will solve this issue by motorizing and automating the movement of the art panels. The final product redesigns the frame to include a robotic system that pseudo-randomly selects panels, picks them up and moves them to a different random location. The automated movement system is designed to allow people to interact with the artwork without confusing the movement program or damaging the mechanism. The final product is a completed prototype that moves panels in the desired fashion and can easily be scaled up for any size Jay needs.

Location

School of Engineering & Computer Science

Start Date

5-5-2018 3:30 PM

End Date

5-5-2018 4:30 PM

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May 5th, 3:30 PM May 5th, 4:30 PM

Motorized Morphicism: Automated Movable Panel Art Installations

School of Engineering & Computer Science

This project blends Mechanical Engineering and art. The project sponsor, Jay Palefsky, is an artist based in Florida. He is a self proclaimed “Artreprenuer” that has been making and selling art through his company Morphicism. This project focuses on Jay’s one of a kind Morph Sliders. Morph Sliders consist of a wooden frame with three channels cut into the interior surfaces on the top and bottom. Paintings on gatorboard panels are mounted in these slots. There are between 8 to 16 panels depending on the size of the frame and each panel can slide back and forth in its channel or be picked up and put into a different channel by hand. This makes the art pieces easily customizable and interactive. This project modifies these art pieces to help Jay sell larger variations. Jay hopes to sell large Morph Sliders to businesses, such as restaurants, which do not want to pay employees to periodically change the art panel positions. Without the movement, a core aspect of the art is lost. This project will solve this issue by motorizing and automating the movement of the art panels. The final product redesigns the frame to include a robotic system that pseudo-randomly selects panels, picks them up and moves them to a different random location. The automated movement system is designed to allow people to interact with the artwork without confusing the movement program or damaging the mechanism. The final product is a completed prototype that moves panels in the desired fashion and can easily be scaled up for any size Jay needs.