Friday, March 12, 2010

Experimental Electronics News

The Rubber Monkey Puppet Company has officially delegated its Experimental Electronics Department to Roth Mobot. From here on out, all associated responsibilities, workshops, lectures, and performances will be handled by the circuit bent duo. In turn, Roth Mobot has become the first official subsidiary of The RMPC.


2. Upcoming Electronics Workshops

How To Build a Portable Amplifier
  • Sunday, April 11, 1:00 - 4:50 PM
    Old Town School of Folk Music

This class shows how simple electronics construction can be while emphasizing the basics of soldering, following an electronics diagram, custom circuit design, circuit construction, and finishing techniques. No previous electronics experience is required! More information can be found on our 'Workshops' page.

Introduction to Circuit Bending
  • Tuesday, April 13, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
    T R A N S IS T O R
This crash course in Circuit Bending teaches basic soldering skills, how to explore a pre-existing circuit, and how to hack a common toy into a unique instrument.  No previous electronics experience is required! More information can be found on our 'Workshops' page.


3. Awards

  • Best Presentation, ORD Camp 2010
Roth Mobot was invited to ORD Camp 2010, a lateral conference of the Midwest's leading technological thinkers (sponsored by google and Inventables, and hosted at UIC's Innovation Center). Patrick McCarthy's presentation "Introduction to Circuit Bending" featuring live toy hacking and a demo of video modding, won the Best Presentation, ORD Camp 2010 Award.

  • Prix Ars Electronics 2010, Digital Communities
Roth Mobot has been nominated for this year’s Prix Ars Electronica award in the category "Digital Communities," which focuses on political, social and cultural projects, initiatives, groups and scenes from all over the world that display commitment to smart, successful ways of deploying digital technologies to solve social problems with an emphasis on the degree of community innovation, sustainability and use of technology. Results will be announced in May.


4. OFFF Festival in Paris

OFFF International Festival for the Post-Digital Creation Culture
June 24, 25, 26, 2010 Roth Mobot is being flown to Paris to perform on the frontline of digital arts events at La Grande Halle de La Villette for the OFFF Festival. OFFF has become a synonym for modernity, both aesthetic and technological. OFFF is spreading the work of a generation of creators that are breaking all kinds of limits - focusing on those separating the commercial arena from the worlds of art and design. Wish us luck on getting our suitcases full of hacked electronics onto the plane. Any advice would be appreciated.


5. The Weekly eSymposium

EVERY Saturday, 12:00 noon - 3:00 PM
Lizard's Liquid Lounge, 3058 W Irving Park Rd, (773) 463-7599
To nurture the Midwest experimental electronics community, we host a free weekly "eSymposium," an interactive lecture series where participants are both teachers and students. There's soldering, tinkering, Q&A, show-&-tell, bending circuits, hacking toys, recycling discarded electronics and batteries, and Chicago's only weekly Circuit Bent Open Mic. Stop by, join the eSymposium's Google Group, or check out our work at youtube.com/eSymposiumChicago and soundcloud.com/eSymposiumChicago.