It’s hard to believe that the B I N A R Y P R E S S creation process is over. It took three months, a few helping hands, and lots of detangling to complete, but I’m left now with ten mobiles, that I hope can be displayed around Stanford campus, or in the future offices of LOTUS&ASH.
STAGE ONE : LOS ANGELES
With the help of my father, I found the aluminum and stainless steel rods that I combined with fishing wire to hang the pieces of the press. Finding enough rods for ten mobiles turned into a wild goose chase from Olympic to Culver City to West Hollywood.
From there, I built my first model, displayed above. Suspended from a patio umbrella, it took a few versions of the first mobile to find the right order, balance, and tiering. The final version had three tiers, with the words “WHAT CAN BE LOST?” appearing on the first and second tier, and the answers ” CONTACT . IDENTITY . CHARACTER . SENSE . YOU” continuing on the second tier down to the third.
It took a lot of patience to attach the pieces of paper to the fishing wire, string them from the rods, and balance them. Since I didn’t want all the mobiles to get tangled on their trip back up to Stanford, I transported them in pieces and assembled them in Theta Delt.
STAGE TWO : THETA DELT ASSEMBLY LINE
After assembling all ten mobiles, they were hung and balanced in a Theta Delt closet, and stored around the hallways, until they were wrapped up for two weeks before the show. It was a foreign site for the fraternity, which was partly covered in B I N A R Y P R E S S materials.
STAGE THREE : THE CANTOR
Since I am abroad studying at Oxford, I didn’t get the chance to set up my mobiles in the Cantor Courtyard or even see the other artworks by my fellow Arts Grantees. But a big thanks goes out to Daniel Schultz and Dane Saksa for setting up my project last Thursday. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to see my project all the way through, but I truly think that this is only the beginning of B I N A R Y P R E S S.
I think the project can go further, and I’m already dreaming up ways to take it there. There are endless ways that the mobiles could be displayed, so many locations where they may be appropriate. It would be fantastic if they could hold some significance in my life, or someone else’s for years to come.
Thank you to everyone who helped with B I N A R Y P R E S S’s journey. To my Mom and Dad for listening to me flush out the crazy idea I had, and my dad especially for his help in the engineering of the mobiles. To Bria and Melanie for handling all the logistical aspects of my project. To my friends, who attended the show, and made me feel like a part of me was there. To all those who responded to my earlier questions of what the mobiles should say. To John and Lars at logosgraphics for teaching me how to handle the Windmill Letterpress and helping me to create the beautiful pieces of paper. And thanks to Daniel, who first put the idea of floating zeros and ones in my head, for entertaining my paper obsession, for testing his own patience when helping me build and balance the mobiles, and for carrying out my vision at Party on the Edge.
