(w/ Stuart O. Anderson)
installation view
Tumbleweeds, as we know them, were first reported in 1877 in South Dakota - the seeds having been accidentally introduced alongside flax seeds by Ukrainian immigrant farmers. Within twenty years the plant had spread West to the Pacific Coast. Also known commonly as Russian Thistle, the US Department of Agriculture lists the plant as a "noxious weed" - it is a classic example of an invasive species. Depicted in Hollywood Westerns as a symbol of a desolate landscape, the rise of the tumbleweed in North America was facilitated by the spread of single-crop agriculture. As pioneers cleared out the original prairie grass, they unwittingly helped to create an environment uniquely suited to the plant's reproductive strategy. When it's seeds reach maturity, a special layer of cells close to the base of the plant dries up. The small bush can then break from it's deep taproot and roll across the landscape, pushed by the wind. As it tumbles, a plant of average size disperses up to a quarter million seeds from it's dried branches.
In this piece, a tumbleweed rolls perpetually on a gimble-mounted platform. An infrared camera and specialized software track the plant and keep it in motion. This sculpture was the result of a collaboration with Stuart O. Anderson, for the first exhibit by the Rossum's robotic arts group. The sculpture was subsequently nominated for the Hybrid Arts catagory of the Prix Ars Electronica 2007. We created a more detailed website as a result, with video, more photos, and extended writing about the work. The link below will take you to the dedicated site.
In the spring of 2007, "Pioneer" received quite a bit of buzz in several online forums, including BoingBoing, Riesenmaschine, and Engadget.
