karenabad:

CellularRecombomat: patch-bay circuit bent cellular automata video synth.  As if I didn’t think circuit bending was hot enough as it is, combined with video is like this explosion of love.

“My main idea with this gadget was to have optical control over the three main basic cellular automata (CA) controls (which are controlled by the pots on the right side, from the top): algorithm (the algorithm used to generate the type of cell which also controls what tone is generated based on the object created), widthspeed of cellular generation, each line generated one at a time from top to bottom. I replaced the LEDs in the snake lites reaching in from behind with optical resistors and each equate to the three pot-based control parameters. Ultimately I wanted to have the optical resistors control the output to the video screen, thus creating a recombinant feedback control loop. I couldn’t wait to see what that would look like! But, after casing up, only the algorithm optical control worked. Something inside must have gotten squished or shorted, which is not surprising considering the pile of spaghetti and circuit boards I had to shove into the tiny case (which, by the way, started its life as a VTECH LessonOne, a boring in itself educational toy but the perfect case for this gadget! And, a perfect fit for a 7” LCD monitor ripped from a “broken” portable DVD player.)”