SWARM
manifesto
Nothing escapes the ineluctable embrace of entropy, the one-way trip of our Universe toward chaos and heat death. Yet at least on one small sphere, our planet, there is a rude and surprising exception: LIFE. As time progresses, everything becomes less organized, but LIFE is an exception. It grows more complicated, and more interesting. Schroedinger calls this organizational drive negentropy - when things want to be ALIVE. Negentropy is a honeybee colony and a night at the opera. Negentropy is a Bronx cheer in the face of Death. The SWARM of autonomous beings by their very nature will have emergent and complex behavior. They will flock , flirt, dance and interact, and their actions will surprise and astonish even us, their creators. They are simple, but together they will behave in ways more complex than we can predict. A lot like LIFE .
see an incredible 3D Animation by Phil Spitler -
or view it in higher quality MOV or WMV format.
SWARM is a funded large scale kinetic art project for Burning Man 2007. It consists of a number of rolling spherical vehicles, actuated by a non-rolling interior with a counterweight. With GPS guidance and computer control, the spheres can execute motions evocative of animals and dancers.
Proposal For Burning Man 2007
to join us, or for more info, email info@orbswarm.com
Our artwork has received a generous grant from Burning Man. Without it, this project wouldn’t be possible. This grant covers most of our expenses. Donations to the project are very gratefully accepted. They will go a long way to briding that gap to create a fantastic and long lasting work of art.
~ The SWARM Team