"this machine is made by me, and I taught the machine to carve a seal."
Lingdong Huang
Seal Cutting Machine
Keyi Zhang: Let's start with the topic that, many people would choose to study for a master's degree here (Media Lab), but you chose to continue to study for a doctorate based on your master's degree and a doctorate means more investment and long-term efforts. What motivate you to pursue a PhD degree?
Lingdong Huang: When I obtained my master's degree, I felt that my research was not enough and I wanted to continue to create. I really liked the direction of my teacher, so I chose to continue to study for a doctorate in the Future Sketches Group.
Keyi Zhang: So what direction do you want to take in your current PhD stage to further deepen your creation and research?
Lingdong Huang: During my PhD, I was working on many projects at the same time. But the main direction of the final thesis was to create a new programming language specifically for creative coding. I think creative coding is more of a tool. Although I like Chinese traditional culture and traditional calligraphy and painting, the final result of the PhD may be to make a tool suitable for various purposes, which can involve Chinese or foreign cultural content.
Seal Cutting Machine
Keyi Zhang: Do you want to introduce this small seal engraving machine to us? I felt that it was very unique when I just walked in and saw it. I noticed it right away.
Lingdong Huang: Yes, this is a machine for seal engraving, and it is also my first machine. I took a course called how to make almost anything, and at the same time took the teacher's next advanced course, how to make something that makes everything, which teaches you how to make this kind of machine. Maybe some of the materials I bought at that time were very beefy, so it looks very strong, and I also like this aesthetic (appearance).
During the production process, many problems were overcome, such as power supply, which has always been a very troublesome thing, as well as noise and jitter. When the material was first used, wax was engraved first, and then stone was engraved after wax engraving was feasible. There is a poem on each axis of this machine, which comes from the Book of Songs. For example, on the X axis, it is written "left and right"; on the Y axis, it is written "coming and going"; on the Z axis, it is written "up and down".
参差荇菜，左右采之。窈窕淑女，琴瑟友之。
—— 源自诗经《关雎》
昔我往矣，杨柳依依；今我来思，雨雪霏霏。
—— 源自诗经《采薇》
燕燕于飞，下上其音。之子于归，远送于南。
—— 源自诗经《燕燕》
Keyi Zhang: I would like to ask another question about this project, because I also like to carve seals by hand and give them to friends as gifts. Do you think that seals carved by machines lack emotion than seals carved by hand?
Lingdong Huang: I think that is definitely the case (hand-carved seals are more emotional). I think that anything made by hand will have a more special feeling. When you see every trace, you will know how you carved it. But it does not prevent me from using a machine to carve, because you can also relate from another perspective. For example, this machine is made by me, and I taught the machine to carve a seal. On the other hand, if you use a machine to carve a seal, because it rotates very fast, it will be destroyed wherever it is carved. It can also be carved more accurately, so it is a more affordable method.
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Puzzle Ball
Keyi Zhang: Can you introduce us to the ""Puzzle Ball" you created using coding?
Lingdong Huang: This is a 3D printed ghost bow ball, which was carved by hand by craftsmen in Chinese history. The ghost bow ball is very difficult to carve because the ball inside it moves separately. I generated this ball myself, all using JavaScript, and there is no asset or model. One file, one-piece molding. It was printed on a 3D printer called Stratasys 55 downstairs. Because it is a deposit color particle, it is full-color and very fine. It has a wax-like support. After removing this support, its three layers can be rotated separately.
ColloGraphy
Teammate: Cathy Fang, Quincy Kuang
Keyi Zhang: We all know that you like calligraphy very much. Do you have any works related to calligraphy that you can share with us?
Lingdong Huang: Yes, yes. This is a modified 3D printer that can write calligraphy. The principle of the algorithm is that the original Plot machine usually goes straight up and down, but Chinese brush calligraphy is different. Calligraphy is a 3D art. If you just draw directly, the brush will spread out. When we write calligraphy, we hide and reveal the tip of the brush, and there will be a landing process. So we simulated this process. When the brush lands, I add a distance to it and slowly land; then take off slowly. If the tip is hidden, it will land from the opposite direction; if the tip is exposed, it will land from the same direction. Secondly, because the tip of the brush is still dragged behind the pen, an additional compensation is needed. If you don't have compensation, the corner of the stroke will be too round. So in the algorithm, we stipulate that if the stroke goes too far and then turns, it just compensates for the corner of the bend. Here is a data set of regular script, and a data set that I marked myself, from Zhao Mengfu's collection of "Thousand Characters". This is this project.
A View on Galiano Island
Keyi Zhang: In addition to calligraphy, are there any recent works related to painting that you can share with us?
Lingdong Huang: This is a machine used to make plots, all automatically generated. This painting is a scene we saw on an isolated island, and we said, generate a scene like it. This is called A View on the Adriatic Islands.
A View on Galiano Island
INTERVIEWER: KE ZHANG
CURATOR: KE ZHANG, WANTONG YAO
EDITOR: KE ZHANG
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: VIVI SHEN
Lingdong Huang is a first-year master's student in the Future Sketches group. He is interested in making art with code. He received a bachelor's degree in computer science and art from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019.