Craftsmanship

Samsung / 2x4 / Tellart

Telling a story of craftsmanship through kinetic art

Craftsmanship is a kinetic installation that artfully tells the story of Samsung’s phone manufacturing process.

Featured at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea as part of the Samsung Olympic Showcase, the sculpture creatively revealed the process of crafting raw materials into refined signature devices.

I worked with Tellart as the creative technology director, and collaborated closely with our clients, and creative design partners at 2x4 in NYC. Much of my role involved leading the creative technology team through various research and development stages, creating prototypes along the way to solve problems and realize different aspects of the design.  I was also responsible for designing the power system and custom control software that orchestrated the mechanical/robotic and media components into a cohesive storytelling experience. 

To distill the phone-making experience into a sculpture, we conducted lots of research, including a trip to Samsung's phone manufacturing facility in Vietnam.  The team focused on the key stages of craftsmanship used in taking materials from a raw state into a sleek design. These included: fashioning metal; coloring and coating; and forming glass. Audiences could walk around the sculpture and witness these stages of production in motion, as real machines danced around in a figurative way, expressing the actions of the phone-making process.

Fashioning Metal
From aluminum blocks to milled phone bodies, a step-by-step progression gives the audience an impression of carving motion. Lighting elements highlight each stage of the body’s formation.

Coloring and Coating
During anodizing each phone body gets dipped into a formulated chemical bath in order to develop its vibrant color and protective coating. The waveform motion whimsically animates this anodizing process.

Forming Glass
Curved glass is a signature element of Samsung’s Galaxy phones. Molded at very high temperatures, the glass is formed in a kiln into the iconic curved shape . We programmed a KUKA robotic arm to orchestrate the delicate dance of forming these glass pieces.

Prototyping
The craft of creative technology is a design process rooted in prototyping. Each project is unique, and we seldom repeat ourselves. To overcome the perpetual unknowns on each project, we iteratively test and evaluate ideas, while consulting with subject matter experts. Sometimes, when there is flexibility in the design, we can creatively capitalize on discovery, taking unexpected outcomes for novel approaches. Ultimately, we seek to integrate a range of media and materials to push the boundaries of storytelling and experience.

Samsung Olympic Showcase

Our team was responsible for evolving the initial concept, developed the design, iterated early prototypes, developed the custom technology, and collaborated with vendors on fabrication, and saw the project through installation and operation. We worked closely with the following partners: Lead design of Samsung Showcase and original sculpture concept: 2x4; Drafting and fabrication of scenic components: Chicago Scenic; Co-prototyping and fabrication of the anodizing mechanism: Octo; Local day-to-day AV operator: Innovation System; Photography: Samsung