charles truett projects

Roadside Memorials

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:33:58 +0000

I recently exhibited seven new paintings in my studio. I took inspiration from a roadside memorial I found on the street.

Last year I ran across a homemade shrine on the sidewalk near my studio. It was made up of an empty bottle of liquor, roses, coins, and a decapitated bird arranged in a plastic dish.

For a while this memorial marked someone's pathway out of this world. It held the aura of that transition for a while, until eventually it too transformed, from a sacred object into garbage. I came across it somewhere in between the two.

I was intrigued by the expression of deep feeling from such a humble platform, and charmed by the amateur attempt to communicate with a world beyond our own.

I began learning about roadside memorials around the country, and used some of them as inspirations for these paintings.

See photos on Flickr
photos from the show by sonia

Many things to report: Hunter Gatherer mission launched, Chief Willy Underfoot reconstruction underway

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:32:23 +0000

Much has happened since my last post.

1. Hunter Gatherer -

3 missions have been launched, EC, MB and DB. Talking to the mission leaders, things are going very smoothly. I'm going to try to meet with team NN tomorrow, and launch a fourth mission. I'll have to go to the studio tonight to get another vehicle mission ready.

2. Chief Willy Underfoot

I've gathered a lot of the parts needed to resurrect the Chief. So far we've got one Arduino board, one Mac Mini, a VDIP1 chip, and a Nokia 6620 with pay as you go SIM card. I also had to find a special USB cable to connect the phone to the arduino/mac. JSD is going to need to give me some guidance from here, but at the very least I can get the phone talking to the mac.

Pre-launch preparations

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:34:57 +0000

three hgs will be mission ready by the end of today. I'm aiming for Wednesday as the launch day. The three mission leaders will be cravitz, barthel and bell. I've only got pesky little details to wrap up: get the log cards in each hg, fill up the third hg with sample cases. Finally, I'm ready. On the chief willy front, I managed to get a mac mini on ebay for $200, and it should arrive this week. Then I'll get it set up to serve the cbtsa site, and eventually, communicate with the river fleet. As for the rovers, I should have all the gear I need this week. I'm getting the vdip1 from England- thats the thing that will connect the arduino to the phone via usb. There also the USB cable that connects the phone to the mac, and thats in its way too. Basically, by the end of the week, I should be ready to begin those two efforts in earnest.(chief willy underfoot and the earth rovers). No progress on eb1 mobile this week, but thats fine. Time for that later.

A Battle Worn Chief Makes his Comeback

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:03:32 +0000

After much thought I've decided the way to with the chief is a Mac mini. What's the point of beating myself up trying to figure out how to use a more complicated CPU when the mini will fit perfectly with plenty of room left over for Micro-controllers, sensors, devices. So I'm looking, in case anybody has one to sell. Plus I'm on scouring ebay for original mac minis.

Chief Willy's hull needs a wash and a touch up. I removed the stamp and the siteplayer module today. I should use them for some alternate project, but for now they're on ice. I also removed the old grill which is a rusted mess. I'm going to be much more particular about the insides this time, I want it to look fantastic. I'll probably paint the mini and stencil the insignia on it. Can't wait for that. Or perhaps a different treatment would be more appropriate, like a sticker.

As far as what sensors Willy will be fitted with, definitely GPS, but temperature, humidity, proximity, and light would all be interesting candidates. It will be the host server of the CBTSA website, and it should also receive messages from the Earth Rovers, and post those messages to the web. So it's going to need a dynamic DNS. Fun.

Earth Rover Communications Systems Procured

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:19:18 +0000

The Nokia 6620 is the first smartphone for the Americas market optimized for use on new high-speed EDGE networks. The powerful Symbian OS-based Series 60 platform allows for the creation of richer applications. It contains a 65K color TFT screen for viewing still images and video clips captured by the integrated VGA camera. The wide range of the newest multimedia features give Nokia 6620 owners a multitude of ways to capture, share and enjoy content.

jsd assures me this Papi will do the trick.

link

meeting with MT

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:08:38 +0000

I was very lucky to be able to meet with my old professor (he's not actually old, he's only two years older than I am) last weekend. He had a few recommendations.

Movies:

Stalker, by Andrei Tarkovsky

Artist:

Markus Copper, Arctic Hysteria show at PS1

Tayeoon Choi,RC ducks

Small board computers:

Artist grants:

UFOs

O'Hare incident with Keith Olberman

Cellphones, WiFi, and Cancer

NY Times

WiFi worries on BBC

DIY Remote controlled lawnmower: EB1 Candidate

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:43:31 +0000

I found my way to the site of Terry Creer this morning, who has build a radio controlled lawnmower by combining an electric wheelchair with a lawnmower.

link

He's replaced the joystick on the wheelchair with an RC receiver, and built his own transmitter. The thing is pretty beautiful and horribly dangerous. Doesn't look like it would be too terribly expensive, certainly not more than an RC car powerful enough to carry the weight needed to be EB1. I would just leave out the lawnmower part, and replace that with the cart.

I think this direction makes a lot more sense than the RC car, because I'm not very confident those will be able to carry any weight. An electric wheelchair will be more than sufficient.

Hunter Gatherers Mission Ready

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:31:42 +0000

At long last, the fleet is prepared. Missions begin Next week.

Candidate for EB1 Mobile Vehicle

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:48:27 +0000

	CEN GST 7.7 Monster Truck The GST 7.7 has evolved from its origin "Genesis" into one of the worlds most durable Monster Trucks from years of bashing and racing on the roughest terrain. The GST is itching to be driven! Race it, bash it! Let no other monster stand in your way. Feel the confidence of strength, power, and speed when driving the GST 7.7. No other monster truck will dare get in its path. Availability: In Stock
	Our Price: $539.99

link

chat with MB about EB1 Mobile Vehicle

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:30:45 +0000

AIM IM with matt.

10:28 AM

matt: Give me an elevator pitch to get John Bruzzo on board. What's this project about?

Charles Truett: I've created my own space program to explore earth

Charles Truett: i'm building a fleet of exploratory rovers to gather data and physical samples

Charles Truett: to create my own scientific record

matt: Nice.

matt: I can sell that.

Charles Truett: John would be an engineering consultant to make my earthbase mobile and RC

Charles Truett: did i already give you my sketch?

Charles Truett: I did right?

matt: No. Just a photo.

Charles Truett: oh hold on

matt: Send it to my hotmail

Charles Truett:

Direct Instant Message session started

10:30 AM

matt: Then I can show it to John.

Charles Truett: that's what i want

matt: xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx

Charles Truett: ok, i'll send it

matt: Awesome. Gotta bolt.

Direct Instant Message session ended

Hunter Gatherer Fleet with CBTSA Insignia

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:22:34 +0000

A little fuzzy in the middle, but overall, I'm very pleased.

more pics.

chat with jsd about phones for the rovers

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:19:45 +0000

AIM IM with kalamari2000.

10:02 AM

Charles Truett: http://flickr.com/photos/38891067@N00/2567715618/in/photostream/

Charles Truett: that's right bitches

Charles Truett: ok you need to give me 2 minutes of your time

kalamari2000: go

Charles Truett: i lost that auction

kalamari2000: suckasss

Charles Truett: i want to know what excactly I need to buy

kalamari2000: you need to get sniping software

Charles Truett: can i get any phone with GSM/GPRS?

Charles Truett: i'd really like one with a camera

Charles Truett: but i need to know the basic stuff i need

kalamari2000: I think this is the list

kalamari2000: N70, N90, N91, 3230, 3300, 6155, 6170, 6230, 6230i, 6235, 6255, 6260, 6630, 6650, 6670, 6680, 6681, 7270, 7600, 7610, 7700, 7710, 9300, 9500

Hunter Gatherer Fleet gets a fresh coat of paint

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:39:04 +0000

I've been working for a few weeks on the new Hunter Gatherer vehicles, and I've made some great progress. This past sunday I was able to get six of the new ones painted, and tonight hopefully I'll be able to stencil on the insignia. The painting process was pretty easy and the colors came out better than expected.

first stencil

Tue, 20 May 2008 03:17:46 +0000

well, i think I've got the hang of it. some paint got under the stencil, but i think i can fix that next time around. and regardless, it looks pretty fantastic.

Chat with Matt about EB1, drag racing

Tue, 20 May 2008 03:05:21 +0000

AIM IM with mattbrthl5/19/08 4:19 PM

matt You there?

4:29 PM

Charles Truett yes!

matt Ronjo!

Charles Truett what do you know about RC cars, or small engines?

matt Zero.

matt Why?

Charles Truett basically i need to convert one of those old lady shopping carts into a powerful RC vehicle

Charles Truett and i'm looking for consultants

matt Owen's babysitter's husband is a drag racer for a living. He can do anything with an engine. Anything.

matt I know this ude very well.

Charles Truett oh my god

Charles Truett that's it

Charles Truett set up a meeting