Spinning things, optical illusions, drone aircrafts, cheap microcontrollers, and 3D-printed robots. You know its gonna be good when you see Emmanuel Goldstein of 2600 at the starting gate in the morning. The World Maker Faire New York is a lot to take in. I'm not sure I really saw all of it during the two days. The second day I was distracted shooting the Faire for the new picture with my comrade Flynn Hundhausen.
There isn't a more natural location for the World Maker Faire New York than the New York Hall of Science. The NYSCI was born to create a home for the 1964 World's Fair. The exhibits brought crowds a collective first glance of tech developments from those years and beyond. The World Maker Faire is clearly the successor to The World's Fair out of the sheer will and force of the Maker Movement. The vendors and exhibits range from the garage startup to the corporate monolith. This relationship is unique in its open acceptance and reliance on one another, both culturally and economically.
Below is some video impressions of the first day from my Kodak Flipcam.
At the Maker Faire we find the nerd cultural paradigm is collapsing. Tech is no longer just of interest to a cabal of white males. I saw all kinds of different people from every race, age, American subculture, and specifically women. There is a pervasive optimism that is inherent within creativity on this level. Unlike art and music, there is no way to be a dickhead poser. The results are all that matter. There was high school student Ananya Cletus present working on robotic limbs for leprosy patients as well huge companies like LG with big pavilions. We filmed a little bit of the "Game of Drones" competition and met a 3D-printed robot by InMoov as well as marveled at the Part Daddy 17-foot tall 3D printer.
Aesthetically, we appear to be moving away from the 1960s futuristic sleekness of Apple and The Jetsons into something more punk in the vein of the film Mad Max's home-rigged aesthetic. Seeing the wires and screws is a lot like seeing the brushstrokes in a painting. The organic presence of the handmade will dominate tech as it moves away from future into an accelerated present. The economic achievement of this decade has been the proliferation of cheap hardware in accordance with Moore's Law. Who the fuck needs Wal-Mart when you can print a cup cheaper and faster with less of a carbon footprint?
Seeing all the children gives my pessimistic heart a glimmer of hope for the future of sustainability, transportation, space travel, engineering and tech. Its not all a utopia and it would be interesting to see a Maker Faire without Disney sponsorship. I do love being here with all these children, however in contrast to this optimism, I'm also curious as to what are people building in their garages to revolutionize say - sex, drugs, greed, and transgression?