Vektorkollektor
Album

The drawing mechanism of VEKTORKOLLEKTOR is based on an 80s plotter (HP7475A). The original electronics gave up relatively soon when we were testing the plotter, so we added new ones. The whole set-up was controlled by an Arduino Nano board. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Sketch of VEKTORKOLLEKTOR set-up. (1) People can draw with the machine using a joystick and (2) we also collect title and other minimal metadata for each image. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The plan was to take VEKTORKOLLEKTOR to different urban locations, so it was built in a colorful hand truck. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The joystick for drawing images. The yellow buttons push the pen against paper. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Front of the hand truck being finished. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Testing the machine. The paper drawing is made on an A3-size paper, which people can take with them when the creation is finished / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The coordinates of the line drawings are saved on an SD card and published at vektorkollektor.com for anyone to use. The small display shows the drawing while it's being drawn. The electronics also include an mp3-shield for playing chip tune-style music. The big, smiling, yellow button is for starting/stopping a drawing. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Some of the first test drawings. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We also sourced locally an old Robotron typewriter to collect some metadata for the images. We discovered soon that the machine had Argentinian layout. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The machine's model, Erika, was familiar to many locals and seems to have been THE typewriter of its time. We also discovered the warranty card in Erika's well preserved accessories. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

In order to complete the vector look, we made some fancy t-shirts at the helpful FabLab Chemnitz. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Our first public location was Lessingplatz and we didn't have to wait long before people joined in to draw vectors. Getting used to typing with Erika was a bit of a hassle. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We had a custom stamp for labelling all the authentic artworks that people took home. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Hallo Chemnitz! Each image also got an index number, with which it is findable in the archive at vektorkollektor.com. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

In the city center we visited Stadhallenpark. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Schlossteichpark was also a good location, as people were in a very relaxed summer mood there. We even got offered coffee from a friendly person after she had finished her drawing. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

In the Concordia skate and BMX park some cool vectors were also collected. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

It was possible to draw also while on BMX bike. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Visiting the most well know sight in Chemnitz, the Karl-Marx-Monument, or the Nischel as the locals say, was a must. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We had a QR code for the vector website always with us, so people could check out their drawings also later online. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

During the presentation week of the Dialogfelder residency program we displayed the vectorkollektor.com website on the Druckstock gallery window. People could also drop by to make more drawings. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The vector archive can be used to make further creative works. In Chemnitz we used the drawings for making wall paintings with Niklas' big spray can plotter, which has the same .PLT file format as VEKTORKOLLEKTOR. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We also had prints of all the vector images, so that it was easier for the locals to vote which vectors were to be plotted on the wall. Tough choice, as there were at that point already about 200 cool vectors. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Vector-plotted wall of an apartment house in Zietenpark in our neighbourhood at Sonnenberg. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Another sprayed vector collage at the entrance of the community garden Zietenaugust. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Another spin-off project in Chemnitz was the making of Vectorscope, a kind of crowd-sourced horoscope based on 12 selected vector drawings. The frontside of each vectorscope card shows the image with its title and vector index number. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

On the backside of each vectorscope card is an explanation of the vector sign. The unique, thoughtful texts were written (in German) by our local friends and colleagues. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We also needed a formula to calculate one's personal vector sign. This formula, which supposedly originates from vector personality expert Prof. Dr. Augustus von Zietenburg, is as follows: (birth month x 10) + shoe size - number of drunken beverages. The closest vector index number is your vector sign. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Besides vektorkollektor.com, the vectorscope cards are available in Chemnitz at the cool hangout place called Späti in Sonnenberg. We coated the cards, so that they could survive heavy use in between having food and drinks. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

In order to make it easier to use the vector archive, Mario Voigt from FabLab Chemnitz created an Inkscape extension for converting the vectors into Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs). This extension was used when plotting the images for the vectorscope cards.

Ines Eisinger, who had joined us in collecting vectors, made also artistic documentation of Vektorkollektor as a part of the Dialogfelder residency program.