Filed under: Multimedia, Mac mini
Berlin artists use parasitic Mac mini in Subway
A group of artists in Berlin have released a movie of a suction cup equipped suitcase which contains a Mac mini, a digital projector, and a battery power supply. They stuck the suitcase on the side of the subway and projected images in the subway tunnels as the train was moving. Are they crazy? Perhaps, but I adore the idea of parasitic Mac mini suitcases. Having been to Berlin several times this year, this is not the craziest street art I've seen, but it's certainly the Mac-iest. Check out the Parasite project description here and grab the movie here.
[via MacBidouille's Blog]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
EJ said 10:07AM on 11-05-2005
That has got to be one of the coolest things that I have ever seen.
Reply
Loki Capret said 10:34AM on 11-05-2005
Too bad they'll probably be arrested for terrorism. I'm sure the last thing commuters want to see is somebody sticking a big metal box to the side of a subway car, especially after the attacks of recent months.
I think it's an interesting display and I commend their efforts (I personally don't know too many artists that can afford minis and projectors they'd be willing to suction cup to the side of a subway car though!!).
Reply
Nolan D. said 10:36AM on 11-05-2005
that's really cool, but those must of been some really strong suction cups, lol.
Reply
James Bachman said 10:36AM on 11-05-2005
That seems to me to be very likely confused for a bomb. Rather irresponsible, perhaps. A clever idea though.
Reply
Fabienne Serriere said 10:41AM on 11-05-2005
i'm pretty sure they had an ok from the local authorities judging from their artists' statement. i think it's also meant as commentary on bombs and terrorism. also, i feel a hell of a lot more relaxed on the berlin ubahn and sbahn than here in paris. then again, i lived through 2001's events in nyc, so maybe i'm a bit biased.
at any rate i think their portable battery powered video projector coupled with a mac mini is brilliant.
Reply
James Bachman said 10:43AM on 11-05-2005
It's not whether the authorities think it's a bomb - it's whether the passengers do, surely?
Reply
thefireguy said 12:34PM on 11-05-2005
Well - we all know just how safe the Berlin subway is these days!
Just think what "W" the nation's wonder boy would say about this the newest form of art - hell the dumb ass just might like the idea - in his mind it's yet another way to discredit the left and of those so call mindless gay artist out their!
otherwisae really cool shit
Reply
bean said 11:57AM on 11-05-2005
That is very cool. Can you imagine what the video looks like if that case falls off the train? Did you guys see the AMUG Super mini Project article that was just posted? Check out the benchmarks at:
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/addonics/mini/
I want one.
Reply
LD said 12:54PM on 11-05-2005
Would make for great advertising. Subways could sell more ad space in formerly unused dark tunnels. I like the idea.
The first thing that popped into my head was the same as most everyone else, sure looks like someone sticking a bomb to a train. Perhaps not the most intelligent thin to do given the current state of affairs in the world.
Reply
Joe Alvarez said 9:20AM on 11-06-2005
This is pretty cool, but...other than the lower angle, couldn't they have done this from the inside of subway car, with a lot less "creep" factor?
Reply
Leo Sanders said 3:09PM on 11-05-2005
Wouldn't be Awesome If transportation authorites around the country decided to take on this as a moving sort of art project?
Reply
Jack said 4:03PM on 11-05-2005
Actually I can think of two thing happening with such an idea.
1) Paranoid terrorist crackdowns.
2) Ad agencies and advertisers coming up with their own device to permanently mount on the side of trains to achieve the same effect. The concept of billboards in subway tunnels is not a new concept. But projecting ads on walls? Now that's a spicy meatball!
Reply
trevor said 4:36PM on 11-05-2005
Its just .... stuck on there? A mac mini is just .. stuck on there?! Aren't they afraid of theft?!
Reply
Alex said 11:27PM on 11-05-2005
First off I think the video is just a proposal considering that I still can't see suction cups on the back of the suitcase when he comes down the stairs and the images don't look very real....
On a side note anyone see the other project? http://www.digital.udk-berlin.de/en/projects/summer05/main/freeproject/applekey.html
Reply
AIM said 5:43AM on 11-06-2005
Great idea, very creative!
Reply
Anthony said 10:33AM on 11-06-2005
I'm pretty sure this is (albeit a very creative) fake. The frame by frame style when the case goes on and off the train means there's less to photoshop! Specially coming off where in one frame there's no train, and there it is with the box in the next frame. Still great stuff though.
Reply
aboriginal said 12:15PM on 11-06-2005
They've been doing this in Hong Kong for a few years now
Reply
Vidman.ca said 4:45PM on 11-06-2005
The video's a bit fucked up if you don't keep an open mind but more importantly, don't question the blogger's report and adopt his/her interpretation as your own. With the terrorist attacks still fairly fresh in our memory it's hard not to look at it and
This proposal is product of summertime post-secondary curriculumn. Classes are project-oriented. Each semester a topic of **current relevance** is examined.
Images on the page return a last modified date of Thursday, August 25, 2005 7:33:49 PM. I saw no evidence that they actually followed through with this project.
I think it was Jeanie Moos (CNN) who did a report about something similar a year ago. An artist in New York lined the tunnel wall with hundreds & hundreds of back-lit still images. As the trains passed the windows lit up like telvision sets, projecting fake motion to viewers using the same 'antique' concept that was first perfected.
-=d?-
vidman.ca
Reply
Vidman.ca said 2:37AM on 11-07-2005
The video's a bit fucked up if you don't keep an open mind but more importantly, don't question the blogger's report and adopt his/her interpretation as your own. With the terrorist attacks still fairly fresh in our memory it's hard not to look at it and
This proposal is product of summertime post-secondary curriculumn. Classes are project-oriented. Each semester a topic of **current relevance** is examined.
Images on the page return a last modified date of Thursday, August 25, 2005 7:33:49 PM. I saw no evidence that they actually followed through with this project.
I think it was Jeanie Moos (CNN) who did a report about something similar a year ago. An artist in New York lined the tunnel wall with hundreds & hundreds of back-lit still images. As the trains passed the windows lit up like telvision sets, projecting fake motion to viewers using the same 'antique' concept that was first perfected.
-=d?-
vidman.ca
Reply
Drew Baron said 11:07PM on 11-06-2005
After noticing 1-5 below (as noted: http://www.metadaddy.org/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=6477 ), I inquired with the artist, Richard, who created this project and he confirmed that the video is just a demonstration of an idea, and that it was edited together.
#1 Note that the brief case does not seem to have any suction cups on it before being placed on the car (as pointed out above). The use of stop motion, still frame leaves no evidence that the case moved with the train (quite the contrary) and it may be the reason why there is a still frame aesthetic throughout.
#2 The light from the projector, when sometimes seen on the wall, appears to be level with the window, not below the window. Likely then, the projector was held from inside the car.
#3 If you do a frame advance through the section around 45-seconds, you can see the reflection of someone in the window who appears to be holding a projector.
#4 Sometimes we see the reflection of the car, but there is no light at all.
#5 Because it is a student work, the project was likely under a class imposed deadline. Many projects within a university only reach prototype level. At the end of the semester, the work is typically demonstrated and defended. While its always nice to have a finished project, the ability to explain and discuss the work, at whatever state it is in, is often the grade. Instead of giving a dry lecture while trying to explain all of the details this is an extremely effective presentation for communicating the project (A+ I would say). Here is how the script for the presentation could go: (1) Play the video. (2) Ask if anyone has any questions.
Reply