INTERVIEW: Yoshi Akai
Hot off the heels from Didier’s Steamthesizer article, NHQ brings you Yoshi Akai, a consummate inventor and designer whose 19th century designs usher 20th century technology with more taste than Sriracha sauce. Whether its hacking a toy to make a synthesizer out of LEGO bricks or making notes appear out of thin air (like the wireless catcher shown above), Mr. Akai’s creations boggle the eyes and inspire the mind. Yoshi took some with me to talk about his pieces, his perspective, and the invisible.
SURVIVALIST AV: Hacking EEG detectors to make art
Once the domain of hardcore new age healers or lawnmower man impersonators, biofeedback technology has finally come into the availability and price point of the average consumer. As soon as that happens, hacking said consumer goods is not far off. In this article and more to come, I will investigate low-cost, resourceful, or otherwise subversive ways of controlling sound and video.
Steamthesizer
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me introduce you to the world of Steampunk. Steampunk is a word with many meanings, an idea that spans many disciplines. It’s one of the sneakier cultural phenomena of our age. According to a reputable source, Steampunk refers primarily to a genre of fantasy or science fiction that explores the ramifications of advanced technology on society or the possibilities, both technological or otherwise, of alternate worlds or “path-not-taken” narratives. But the bit that interests me comes almost as a footnote: “Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical ‘steampunk’ style.”
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