Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

I am thinking about doing a larger version of this idea in a wooden rig and much prettier paper with a rough tear rather than simple straight cuts… I think it could be very pretty if the right image was chosen (not just some old picture of Rasputin). Might even be a good idea to print it on some Spoonflower fabric now that I think about it.

On a completely unrelated note, I found this post on computer sonar using existing hardware — the speakers and microphone already in your computer. It sends out an inaudible audio ping and listens to the way the sound frequencies change as they bounce off your hands and figures out what gestures you’re using. Very simple idea with impressive results. It reminded me of an analogous project where the folks were recording the sounds of keystrokes and using just that audio to figure out what you were typing (passwords for example). Apparently it was quite simple to train neural net software to do this since each key resonates through the case of a computer a little differently. There are so many projects like this. I saw another one recently where they were videotaping people at bank machines from a distance and pulling out their PIN codes just by looking at the very subtle shifts in body position as they typed it in.

It’s remarkable how much data exists in this world that we never become of consciously, either because we don’t have the wetware to process it, or because our subconscious simply doesn’t decide to pass it on up to the conscious — at best we dream about it the next night. Speaking of the subconscious, giving subconscious credit where it’s due, I came up with the desire to do this art project after seeing Scott Hazard’s ripped up photo art.