Friday, March 02, 2007

the competition is over

After an afternoon discussion, Lars and I decided to simplify our design and attempt to complete it by the 9:00 PM horn marking the end of the competition. If the piece wasn't done at 9:00, we would voluntarily disqualify ourselves and keep working until finished. Lars: "Art may break out at any moment!"

The simplified design consists of a single chime struck by a hammer once per rotation of a crank. It eliminates many parts that were required by the design capable of playing a tune but is still mechanical, interactive, and musical.

We finished making all of the required parts and were installing the axle assemblies as the clock ticked toward 9:00. When the horn sounded, all of the parts were in place except for the crank, and the sculpture only needed some waterglue and a little re-positioning of the chime before being completely functional.

Since we were so close, and the piece was starting to look pretty cool, we decided not to forfeit the competition. Instead we packed up our things, cleaned up the site, and headed home after one last donut from the warming hut. We'll return on Friday afternoon, during the warmest part of the day, to finish the piece and make it work.

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