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Face of Defense: Civilian Turns Computer Parts into Artwork
Face of Defense ^
| Capt. Larry van der Oord, USAF
Posted on 12/30/2009 3:28:50 PM PST by SandRat
SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 30, 2009 A civilian administrator working for the Air Force here transforms worn out computer parts into unique works of art.
Miguel Rivera, with the 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron in Southwest Asia, stands behind the sculptures he built from old hard drives and other computer parts Dec. 19, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Tony Tolley (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. |
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When computer hard drives go bad, airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron here typically remove all of the pertinent data and send them to the local disposal unit for destruction.
However, Miguel Rivera has been using some old hard drives and other discarded computer parts to create a collection of distinctive sculptures. So far he has constructed two different cars, a motorcycle and a robot.
I just started making them just a few months ago," said Rivera, who has worked with the squadron for the past five years.
We had a growing pile of hard drives just lying around the shop, Rivera explained. One day I decided to take one apart, since Id never looked at the guts up close before. Thats pretty much how it all started.
His first sculpture, a car-like vehicle, was built over one full weekend from standard 3.5-inch hard drives. It took a total of 33 hard drives to make.
The first one wasnt really difficult to put together, since I didnt have to modify much other than the cover, Rivera said. Everything else just screwed on.
Riveras second sculpture was another miniature car. His third piece of art, a motorcycle, was a bit more difficult to construct.
I just couldn't get parts to mix well at first to reflect the look I wanted, Rivera said. It took many hours of taking apart pieces and putting them back together to get it right.
Riveras favorite sculpture is the robot he built.
In fact, Im not sure I can out-do this one, Rivera said of his robot sculpture. Building it went surprisingly smooth; it took me about two full weeks to make.
Riveras creations are displayed on his office desk. And, his handiwork is drawing outside attention. All four sculptures were recently featured on Wired magazines Web site.
Rivera applies the same creativity in solving communication challenges as he applies in creating his very unique sculptures, said Air Force Maj. Roy Rockwell, 386th ECS commander.
Meanwhile, Rivera is working on a fifth sculpture and plans to unveil his Hard-drive Helicopter within the next few weeks.
(Air Force Capt. Larry van der Oord serves with 386th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs.)
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: art; civilian; frwn; southwestasia
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1
posted on
12/30/2009 3:28:51 PM PST
by
SandRat
To: SandRat
Been going on for years. Cannot tell you how many hard drive clocks I have.
2
posted on
12/30/2009 3:30:52 PM PST
by
edcoil
(If I had 1 cent for every dollar the government saved, Bill Gates and I would be friends.)
To: SandRat
3
posted on
12/30/2009 3:51:31 PM PST
by
isthisnickcool
(GIVE ME YOUR MONEY B***!! - President Obama)
To: SandRat
I assume some, if not all of this is on the taxpayer dime.
To: fire4effect
Wow!
Amazing!
That looks almost exactly like a...
a...
a...
a...
a...
a...
a...
...pile of junk!!!
5
posted on
12/30/2009 6:52:35 PM PST
by
TXnMA
("Allah": Satan's current alias...!!)
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