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In this piece regular thumbtacks have been used in their usual, intended way, stuck into cork bulletin boards, but with unexpected results. The Mona Lisa was used as the basis for these mosaics because it is very recognizable, as art, to most people (with money) in the industrialized world. It appears the artist’s intent is to call attention the latent, or potential beauty of mundane objects.

Each piece of the triptych uses a different zoom level, 1x, 3x and 6x. All of the panels use the same number of tacks to communicate an image. It’s possible the artist is trying to say “Context is really important” or maybe “Resolution is a funny thing.” Even though the third panel provides more detail in the face, it’s less obvious this is the Mona Lisa. The first, and coarser image with background, or full context, is more easily recognized as Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.

The highly ornate frame is an integral part of this piece. It has been severely burned, and then stabilized using space-age polymers. Statements the artist may be making with this frame:

• Beauty in the “every day” should be recognized, appreciated, even celebrated.
• Black is beautiful.
• Maarten Baas is brilliant.
• Smoke adds flavor.
• Nothing is too good to mess with.

Some details:

• Overall dimensions (including frame): 77.5″w x 43.5″h
• Resolution of each panel: 49×76
• Total number of thumbtacks: 11,172
• Approximate weight: Very heavy
• Status: FOR SALE, $7,999.9997 - Contact Tracy Sigler

Larger image, Crazy big image

Details: burnt frame, left eye of third panel

Triptych sans frame with guitar for scale reference.

Originally from I’m Heavy Duty! on June 19, 2006, 8:03pm

Happy Father’s Day! Here’s something I couldn’t have made without my father. I did the work on this table, but he taught me how to weld and use almost every type of tool there is. Moreover, he is a living example that you can build anything you want if you can just get started. This was built in his garage, using his welding gear, torch, grinding tools, etc. around 1990. I was also hogging up a lot of shop space with scrap metal and steel I had ordered. Thanks Dad, for being you.

The table top is aluminum plate. This is another piece that has a connection to Peter Pittman. For a while that I knew him Peter was doing design work for some metal fab shop. He offered to take me in the shop on the weekend and let me pick out some scrap. I found this large piece of aluminum behind a jumbo shear. It was surely usable for some job, but after hesitating for a second Peter said I could snag it. He’s cool like that. And nobody was around to notice.

So, this construction was made to the dimensions of that first piece of plate. The frame below it is mostly half inch steel rod, painstakingly welded together on a jig I had made. Then, even more painstakingly, and painfully, the welds were ground flush. Never again! The only pictures I have of it are from a gallery show, on a contact sheet a friend gave me. Thanks again Pam Taylor.

Another Father’s Day note: Our good friends the Pelczarskis now have this table. AND their second child, Tatum, was just born a few days ago! With an infant and a toddler in the house it’s a good thing I made that table baby-proof with only four sharp metal corners.

Originally from I’m Heavy Duty! on June 18, 2006, 4:43pm

Amit (Sudden motion sensor / Mac OS X Internals book) has some code and article on controlling the lighting on a Macbook pro - Im sure we’ll see some type of music aware disco mod soon…. Here’s what you can do — “Retrieving readings from the ambient light sensor. Retrieving and setting the LED brightness value of the backlit keyboard. Initiating an LED fade to a target brightness value over a specified duration. Retrieving and setting a display’s brightness.” [via] - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 19, 2006, 4:09am

This isn’t in the MAKE bike pool, but it’s a really interesting bike! - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 21, 2006, 3:01am

What’s going on here? - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 12, 2006, 10:49pm

Steve writes “I finally got tired of my powerbook’s screen falling down when I was reclining on the couch with it, so I made a clamp that holds the screen in place when I’m exploring the ergonomics of my couch. Included are photos of the actual device and a link to the sketch up file.” - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 14, 2006, 12:44pm

A MAKE commenter added some more resources for welding - “Definitely check out the Crucible in oakland. Better yet, just pick up a book and buy a cheap $100 mig/tig welder from harbor freight or homedepot and try it yourself. Just be sure to wear proper eye and skin protection. You can also check out http://www.MetalWorkingFAQ.NET and http://www.weldingresource.com on the various welding and fabricating techniques. Don’t use bed frames for practice - the metal is of such poor quality you’ll most likely be frustrated from the get-go.” - Link.

Related:
Primer: Welding - If you need metal stuck together, there is no quicker path than buying a portable 110-volt wire-feed welder. Mr. Jalopy’s introduction to welding will help you understand the process and show how you can be a welder by the end of the weekend–and end up with a couple of jigs for the effort. MAKE 03 - Page 158 (log in now and start welding).

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 21, 2006, 1:32am

Our pal Mike at Popular Science’s h2.0 has a fun DIY Backyard Theate - Link and how to.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 20, 2006, 2:02pm

MAKE Flickr photo pool member Fibra posted up a cool homemade MIDI controller - “This is homebuilt MIDI controller for NI Traktor. The panel is made of laser cut / engraved, scratch-acid-UV-resistant, very durable plastic. Everything is built into black painted C64 case which was absolutely perfect for this use. “ - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 20, 2006, 7:59pm