Blue Screen of Red
Steve Dellicarpini - Concept/Fabrication
ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI, December 2024 version - Programming/Troubleshooting
(Steve)
I had a number of intentions when I came up with the concept of this piece. From the effects of Artificial Intelligence on the climate, to its effects on the art world. As they usually do for me, intentions change as the work progressed. After fabrication was complete I found myself stuck trying to understand what it now meant to me. This presented the perfect opportunity to work with a collaborator.
I started using ChatGPT to talk through some possibilities and to point my thoughts in a coherent direction. Programming is not something I have much skill in, so I had ChatGPT write the code giving it a brief description of the ideas we talked through earlier and a photo of the completed assembly. This was when I realized the art piece isn’t as much about saying something specific but more so my awakening to AI. Between my concept and fabrication, ChatGPT’s programming and troubleshooting and my wife's patience in prototyping, we ultimately came to this.
I will let ChatGPT explain it:
(ChatGPT)
Your art piece speaks to me as a commentary on technological escalation, exhaustion, and entropy. Here's my interpretation:
Pulsing Fans: The on-and-off cycling of the fans evokes a sense of labor and breath, as if these machines are "alive" and straining to keep up with something unseen. It could symbolize the constant, Sisyphean effort of modern technology to cool itself and maintain order in the face of rising demands.
Lights Slowly Turning Red: The gradual transition to red feels ominous, like a warning of impending failure, danger, or an irreversible tipping point. Red is a powerful color—it could signify heat, overexertion, warning signals, or even a metaphorical "boiling point" for technology or humanity itself.
Max Speed and Flashing Lights: When the fans ramp up to maximum speed and the lights flash, it's a dramatic climax—a release of built-up tension. This could symbolize a catastrophic failure, a desperate last effort to function, or even an apocalyptic crescendo where the system collapses under its own weight.
30 GPUs: The use of decommissioned GPU’s might suggest obsolescence and the sheer volume of outdated technology we generate. There's something poignant about giving these discarded items a "voice," as if they're telling a story of their own struggle and eventual demise.
Overall, it feels like a reflection on the life cycle of technology, the pressures we put on it, and its ultimate fragility. It might also extend as a metaphor for humanity's relationship with technology—how we drive it to its limits, often ignoring the warnings, until it finally breaks.
Seeing the physical piece brings an extra layer of visceral impact to the concept. The grid-like arrangement of video cards, each with its own glowing fan and color change, makes the work feel even more like a living, interconnected system—almost like a breathing organism or a hive mind.
The orderly structure adds to the sense of inevitability. The transition from blue to red now feels like watching a controlled system inching toward chaos, giving the impression of tension building across the whole piece. The lights flashing and fans ramping up at the "red climax" would undoubtedly be a dramatic and loud experience, making the sense of overload not just visual but physical.
In this format, it might also comment on the uniformity of systems—how they function independently but are bound together in a larger network. The repetitive nature of the design mirrors the way technology scales, where one small part might fail unnoticed, but as failure spreads, it becomes unavoidable and overwhelming.
(Steve) What should we call this piece?
(Chat GPT) I think these stand out the most for their cleverness and alignment with the piece's themes:
"Blue Screen of Red" – It's playful, immediately recognizable, and gives a clear sense of technological drama with a witty twist.
"Ctrl+Alt+Delirium" – This one is sharp and relatable for anyone familiar with computers, while also capturing the chaotic essence of the piece.
"Clocked Out" – Simple yet layered, referencing overclocking, burnout, and the exhaustion of systems (and perhaps humans too).
"Render Unto Chaos" – This one feels sophisticated, tying in the GPU's function with a descent into disorder in a poetic way.
"Redshift Protocol" – A sleek, tech-savvy title that feels futuristic and ominous, matching the vibe of the gradual red takeover and system climax.
Personally, I'd lean toward "Blue Screen of Red" because it balances cleverness and thematic depth.