Brady Lawlor – Scumak No. 2
Immediate Response:
Scumak No. 2 really drew me in since it look so unlike any art piece I had seen before. It’s repetitive, but also extremely unique blob-like creations intrigue but also confuse me. It gives off a very dystopian feeling like this is some sort of futuristic machine that is sloppily creating objects or possibly a life form. The movement of the machine is almost as if it is working on an assembly line or in a factory, constantly pumping out plastic to create these forms. The mystery behind the meaning of this piece is what really brought me to look into this piece and its unusual design and purpose.
Objective Description:
This extremely large 3D printer-like extruder is mounted to a robust metal pole. This pole is then mounted to a large slow-moving conveyer belt. The extruder moved to certain locations along a table and when it stops it begins extruding pigment-filled plastic onto the table. After it has extruded a large blob of this plastic it stops and moves to the next location, where it creates another blob. The difference between this and a conventional 3D printer is that the plastic from the nozzle lands uncontrollably on the table below, which leads to each blob looking very different from the last one.
Technical Decisions:
The extruder and arm design have a very rugged and beefy look that makes it seem like it came straight out of a machine shop or large factory. This gives off a surreal like feeling that these blobs were programmed to be created in such a way, but who is creating them and why? The color of the blobs differ in black, bright red, and burgundy. I feel as if the burgundy-colored plastic gives off an almost fleshy look, which makes the blobs look almost alive. The bright red blobs form into what looks like taffy, and the black ones look like mountains of tar. This decision to use multiple colors for the blobs gives each one a different personality and look.
The Work in the World:
This work reminds me a lot of an automotive factory, where the robots create and piece together cars on a conveyor belt. This robot on the other hand creates more natural-looking forms as if it is trying to forge a life form from such primitive materials like plastic. It almost makes the robot look like it has gone insane, constantly trying to make these forms come to life with no success. Specifically, this piece reminds me of Sun Yuan and Pneg Yu’s Cant Help Myself (2016-19) which has a robotic arm that leaks hydraulic fluid and tries to clean up the floor. This is insane as the hydraulic fluid never stops leaving so the robot is stuck in a loop trying to clean itself.
The Story it Tells:
I think this piece relates to Cant Help Myself (2016-2019) in that it is creating piece after piece, hoping one of them will come to life, but none of them ever do. This gives the robot an eerie presence about it. I think the robot is an attempt at trying to create life with nonorganic materials. These blobs look to just test the machine is running, testing one after another trying to make one that will move, breathe, walk or even talk. But sadly none of this ever happens, the blobs of plastic just sit there, never showing any signs of life.