Artist Duane Koyawena and engineer Joe Mastroianni mixed their ardour and abilities to create a singular droid often known as Hopi-R2 for the Museum of Northern Arizona.
Posted on November 4, 2019
by
Chris Morgan
In Flagstaff, positioned on the foot of the San Francisco peaks in northern Arizona, nestled within the ponderosa pines, lives a big, numerous inhabitants. The individuals of the close by Navajo and Hopi reservations, college students and lecturers of Northern Arizona College, and the virtually year-long inflow of vacationers as Flagstaff lies on the crossroads of a large number of cultural and geological websites in northern Arizona together with Sedona, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, and plenty of others.
Duane and Joe with Hopi-R2 on the Museum of Northern Arizona
As a dude who was born and raised in Flagstaff, I prefer to hold an ear to the bottom about what’s taking place close to my hometown. A pal from Flagstaff shared an occasion that was going to occur on the Museum of Northern Arizona, and I used to be launched to Duane Koyawena and Joe Mastroianni from their social media posts a couple of distinctive undertaking they have been collaborating on; a one-of-a-kind R2 unit named Hopi-R2. A cultural amalgamation of artistry and engineering pulled from the nerdiest corners of each Star Wars fan’s thoughts. Because the Museum of Northern Arizona web site states, “Hopi-R2 is a mixing of conventional pottery motifs and up to date expertise, a stability of historic cultures and futuristic concepts, a collaboration between a Hopi artist and {an electrical} engineer from New Jersey.” The museum exhibit, titled “The Drive is With Our Individuals”, runs by March 2020 and highlights the merging of Native American artwork and the mythos of Star Wars; two tales that share many issues, particularly the that means of stability on this planet.
Earlier than we get to Hopi-R2, let’s study the worlds that Duane and Joe got here from to hitch collectively to create this superb artifact.
As a youth, Duane grew up with artwork in his household. His father was an artist who created many items that mirrored their tradition and heritage. Sadly, his father misplaced a protracted battle with alcoholism and handed in his 60’s. At the moment, Duane began to comply with in his father’s footsteps considerably – he had a tough go of his late teenagers and early twenties, particularly with alcohol. He explains that this time in his life was his “Darkish Facet” – he manipulated, stole and lied to get what he wanted to get the following bottle of booze. His troubles ultimately landed him in jail, the place he was in a position to sober up and regain his footing, however he emerged from incarceration with little hope for being profitable. Fortunately, the assistance that Duane acquired post-release helped him notice that success was one thing that was achievable, one thing that was private, and one thing value pursuing, even when there have been failures alongside the best way.
As soon as he was launched, Duane used his pure, self-taught inventive talents to create artwork for customized attire, primarily sneakers, to kickstart his fame. After getting some momentum and notoriety, Duane began giving talks on restoration with artwork in displays known as ‘Parallels’. He discusses the parallels in transferring out of dependancy and into sobriety in a lot the identical method he pursues artwork; it’s a must to begin someplace, and it’s a must to follow each day by day. The Parallels displays are a type of expression by artwork with teams of people that wish to find out about Duane’s path to sobriety. Known as a ‘Coping to Resiliency’ speak, Duane shares his life journey of artwork and restoration with a particular portray session.
Duane has additionally created a second, inventive useful resource for the neighborhood; a touring artwork exhibit known as PIVOT: Skateboard Deck Artwork together with his pal, and native Navajo tattoo artist, Landis Bahe. Because the Museum of Northern Arizona web site explains, “This exhibition displays our lives – distinctive but common. PIVOT refers back to the fast transitions we make between our conventional and day-to-day lives. We regularly work in cities whereas persevering with to contribute to our ancestral communities and homelands.” The exhibit has simply accomplished a run on the Museum of Northern Arizona and consisted of almost 100 skateboard decks painted by artists from completely different cultures and backgrounds from dozens of walks of life, together with Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, Comanche, O’odham, and Latinx artists. Whereas the exhibit itself has ended on the museum, Landis and Duane nonetheless maintain PIVOT workshops with at-risk children, who get to take the skateboard decks dwelling on the finish of the undertaking.
This system helps children who’re in-between their native tradition and the extra ‘fashionable’ society of at the moment, surrounded on all sides by screens and distractions. This system helps them ‘pivot’ backwards and forwards between cultural and household custom and the calls for of a technology-heavy, fast-paced world. These final eleven years for Duane, transferring ahead in a great way, getting sober and staying that method, he sees as his balanced “Gentle Facet” and is aware of the perils of how shut all of us are to transferring again throughout that line to the opposite aspect. Giving again to children, freely expressing himself by his artwork, and giving a voice to others which are experiencing what he went by is his method to assist himself and others restore stability to their lives.
Duane works extensively with others that want a technique to reconnect with their native tradition and cope with the on a regular basis pressures and stress that the fashionable world can place upon them – particularly children. Chatting with children and dealing with them on artwork – like portray skateboard decks – provides them a window on a world they might in any other case not have appeared by to see what is feasible. Duane believes getting that probability, that view right into a tradition that in any other case might have been misplaced, after which inspiring them to take that essential first step, is value all the trouble to stop what he needed to undergo. To this finish, he’s additionally a devoted psychological well being technician on the Behavioral Companies of Flagstaff Medical.
On the engineering aspect, Joe Mastroianni comes from the east coast, New Jersey. He and his spouse, Kris Hutchison, director of selling on the Museum of Northern Arizona, met in essentially the most unlikely of locations – Antarctica. Joe and Kris have been each working for the Nationwide Science Basis – Joe on a undertaking, and Kris because the lead on the McMurdo Station newspaper. Joe and Kris then moved to the bay space and have been long-time volunteers-turned-employees of the Bay Space Maker Faire in San Mateo. The native Astromech membership that attended MFBA was their first introduction to droids and droid constructing – which began with simply R2 models however grew to incorporate virtually each droid conceivable at one of many largest Maker Faires on this planet. Joe and Kris are each passionate Makers from method again within the day – from wearables to “Musical Excessive Voltage Tesla Coils” to robotic toys for youths.
Joe and Kris moved to Flagstaff as a compromise – it’s not snowy tundra on a regular basis, it’s not a sizzling desert – however the climate is average, and the warmth (the place Joe has at all times needed to dwell) is barely a fast hour-drive away.
The impetus for the start of the R2 undertaking got here from Kris when the museum approved a Star Wars exhibit and he or she got here dwelling with a request “Are you able to construct me an R2 unit?” Not an odd request in a home of Makers! Drawing on his relationships from Maker Faire, he tried to get models for the present from pals in Calfornia and even Phoenix. However with the load of the R2 models in query, there wasn’t a possible technique to transport them with out critical threat of harm. So, Joe started working making his personal R2 unit – from scratch.
Joe determined that since this construct was going to be for the museum, he needed the R2 to be all metallic – aluminum. He needed to resist no matter most of the people would possibly do to it. Joe explains, “Going all-metal meant that many elements would require precision machining – which I don’t have the aptitude for. I do have full-sized handbook lathes and mills in my storage – however no CNC (although, belief me, after this I’m available in the market for a full-blown metallic CNC). And thru the membership, I used to be capable of finding different builders and get suggestions and thus I used to be in a position to purchase my aluminum water-jet lower dome.”
After receiving the dome, Joe rapidly realized that the R2 unit would must be painted – and since he wasn’t an artist, nor native to the Colorado Plateau, he would wish assist.
“So I contacted my buddy, Duane Koyawena, and requested him if he thought he may be fascinated about portray R2. And if he was to do it – then all bets have been off. I might work strictly on mechanics and electronics and he would have free reign to do no matter he needed for look’s sake. After a number of conferences, earlier than I began any critical building, however whereas I used to be gathering parts with the assistance of my mentors at Astromech, Duane determined the motif could be “Hopi Pottery”. Then, after a number of visits the place we tried to determine powder coating vs conventional priming, paint supplies, and so forth., we had a plan.”
Development of Hopi R2 took about seven months to get it to the purpose the place Duane might begin engaged on items that weren’t connected to Hopi R2. Within the ultimate month, Duane was relegated to the ground subsequent to Hopi R2, because it was too heavy to raise onto a platform.
Joe credit the enter from his pals within the Astromech world, who provided not solely recommendation however droid elements that they machined and often present to different astromech builders. The overarching piece of recommendation that Joe would move on to different potential R2 builders – tolerances differ.
“Whereas there are “grasp drawings” someplace, not everybody follows them with the identical rigor, and virtually no person agrees on element. I purchased my CNC-billeted legs from one man, my welded “ankles” from one other man, and the metal toes from a 3rd man. Getting all this to work collectively took many hours on the milling machine drilling and t-tapping holes that have been particular to my construct due to the best way I selected to amass elements; milling out slots, and making an attempt to get items to work the best way the supplier meant.”
The top results of Hopi R2 is a testomony to the facility of friendship and artwork, craftsmanship and tenacity. With out numerous hours of engineering, planning, and hands-on electrical work by Joe, and Duane’s willingness to aim to convey the tradition of a individuals on a technologically superior canvas, the collaboration wouldn’t be the success that it’s. The fervour that each Duane and Joe put into this superb undertaking actually impressed us right here at MatterHackers, and it was an extremely rewarding activity to have the ability to write a narrative about some incredible individuals from the writer’s hometown. (Go ‘Jacks!)
If you wish to see extra of Duane’s artwork or contact him for a fee, or extra info on his Pivot artwork exhibit or his Parallels Presentation, you possibly can go to his Fb web page right here:
https://www.fb.com/DuaneKoyawenaArts/
For extra info on the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the present “The Drive is With Our Individuals” exhibit, which runs till March of 2020, go to their web site right here:
