Each week we chat about the tools of the trade with one outstanding creative to find out exactly how they do what they do. The questions are always the same, the answers, not so much. This week: Jason Krugman.Who are you and what do you do?
I am a 28-year-old artist and designer from Newton, Massachusetts, now based in Brooklyn. I specialize in physical interaction design and work primarily in illuminated, moving and interactive media. I get down to the gritty details of a material or technology, highlight an attractive quality and design off that. Some of my work is technically complex, but for the most part, its complexity comes from scale and repetition. I am drawn to the generative qualities of organization particularly when applied to electronics and illuminated moving things.What kind of hardware to you use?
I use LEDs of all shapes and sizes as well as various electrical components. I make custom switches from different types of wire, playing around with various metals to see what types of effects I get from putting electricity through improvised circuitry. Recently, I’ve been running electricity through stainless steel cable (which conducts really badly) and making hand-soldered wire nets with different types of coatings. Most of my projects are low-voltage, allowing me to do some creative stuff with power transmission. I am also a big fan of electromechanical relays, which can be used to magnify tiny gestures, like blowing on a dandelion, into big outputs like large moving things or high-power lighting. Electromechanical relays are great because you can actually hear (and sometimes see) them switching.Breathing LED sculptureWhat kind of software do you use?
Although most of my work does not include a computer or microprocessor, I frequently use the Arduino platform. I have done some stuff that uses PHP and Flash to allow for physical output via web interfaces, but have mainly been drawn to lower-tech stuff that is more hands on and less arcane.What piece of equipment can you simply not live without?
I have some really nice little wire benders and my trusty Weller analog soldering iron.If money were no object, how would you change your current set up?
Ideally I would be moving faster on several projects at once. I am always working on 4 or 5 projects, but if I had some more dough I would probably hire more people to speed up my R&D (research and development). A metal and wood shop would be nice, although not having proper tools has made me nimble.Is there any piece of technology that inspired you to take the path you did?
Ingo Maurer‘s work inspired me a lot (for those who don’t know, he has been a pioneer in lighting tech and design for decades). I saw his show at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum and was amazed by the stuff he was doing with low voltage lighting. It still kind of blows my mind that you can make brightly illuminated lighting pieces with power running through safe-to-touch wiring. There’s so much that can be done when you don’t have to use traditional wiring to create electrically functional artwork.Claremont College LED GardenWhat is your favorite piece of technology from your childhood?
I had a defunct electric train set that was a toy from my father’s childhood. The trains didn’t work, but there was one car that had a spring-loaded missile launcher. I was really into weapons until I got in trouble for taking out gun books from the library in the 2nd grade. Thank you Ms. Shlager.What fantasy piece of technology would you like to see invented?
There’s a lot of great sci-fi stuff out there, but personally I’m pretty excited for fusion power on Earth.Photo credit: Noah Kalina
I am a 28-year-old artist and designer from Newton, Massachusetts, now based in Brooklyn. I specialize in physical interaction design and work primarily in illuminated, moving and interactive media. I get down to the gritty details of a material or technology, highlight an attractive quality and design off that. Some of my work is technically complex, but for the most part, its complexity comes from scale and repetition. I am drawn to the generative qualities of organization particularly when applied to electronics and illuminated moving things.
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I use LEDs of all shapes and sizes as well as various electrical components. I make custom switches from different types of wire, playing around with various metals to see what types of effects I get from putting electricity through improvised circuitry. Recently, I’ve been running electricity through stainless steel cable (which conducts really badly) and making hand-soldered wire nets with different types of coatings. Most of my projects are low-voltage, allowing me to do some creative stuff with power transmission. I am also a big fan of electromechanical relays, which can be used to magnify tiny gestures, like blowing on a dandelion, into big outputs like large moving things or high-power lighting. Electromechanical relays are great because you can actually hear (and sometimes see) them switching.Breathing LED sculptureWhat kind of software do you use?
Although most of my work does not include a computer or microprocessor, I frequently use the Arduino platform. I have done some stuff that uses PHP and Flash to allow for physical output via web interfaces, but have mainly been drawn to lower-tech stuff that is more hands on and less arcane.What piece of equipment can you simply not live without?
I have some really nice little wire benders and my trusty Weller analog soldering iron.If money were no object, how would you change your current set up?
Ideally I would be moving faster on several projects at once. I am always working on 4 or 5 projects, but if I had some more dough I would probably hire more people to speed up my R&D (research and development). A metal and wood shop would be nice, although not having proper tools has made me nimble.
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Ingo Maurer‘s work inspired me a lot (for those who don’t know, he has been a pioneer in lighting tech and design for decades). I saw his show at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum and was amazed by the stuff he was doing with low voltage lighting. It still kind of blows my mind that you can make brightly illuminated lighting pieces with power running through safe-to-touch wiring. There’s so much that can be done when you don’t have to use traditional wiring to create electrically functional artwork.Claremont College LED GardenWhat is your favorite piece of technology from your childhood?
I had a defunct electric train set that was a toy from my father’s childhood. The trains didn’t work, but there was one car that had a spring-loaded missile launcher. I was really into weapons until I got in trouble for taking out gun books from the library in the 2nd grade. Thank you Ms. Shlager.What fantasy piece of technology would you like to see invented?
There’s a lot of great sci-fi stuff out there, but personally I’m pretty excited for fusion power on Earth.Photo credit: Noah Kalina