Chris Combs

@chriscombs.net

610 Followers 1429 Following

Artist in Washington, DC and Mount Rainier, MD. My art both incorporates and questions technologies. https://chriscombs.net

A radiant cat looks upwards against a blue sky backdrop, as seen in a bulbous lens. The lens is set in a metal ring in a decrept blue-painted machine.
A shiny aluminum peanut, a cast of a styrofoam peanut, rests on black fabric. It is S-shaped and a lot of its textural detail is captured in the casting.
A close-up view shows its bulbous lens and bright LCD screen, which is showing first a natural scene of lush greenery, then a koi begging for a treat. It is a silent video, like the artwork.
In a brick-lined planter along a quiet breezeway, two periscope-like grey pipes erupt from the ground like brontosauruses. They each are painted industrial grey and are roughly person-sized. From this angle, the closer "Periscope" reveals a bulbous screen that is displaying a watery natural scene.
A child balances a log while crossing a river against a backdrop of smokestacks, trash, rusting machine carcasses, and pollution as a few wild plants and creatures try to flee on the illustrated cover of the "How and Why Wonder Book of the Spoilt Earth," a 1972 science book for kids with a slightly discordant title.
SUMMARY: Merchandise Total $320.20 Shipping Estimate $48.71 Customs duties & taxes $176.11
Eckington Public Safety Walk We will continue our community walks and multi-agency coordination with neighbors on Monday, August 25 with a walk in Eckington along T St NE. Here are the details: Public Safety Walk - August 25 @ 6:30 p.m. Meet at T St and Summit Pl NE We will join MPD's Community Safety Walk to address quality-of-life concerns in the T St NE area of Eckington. This is a great chance to connect with neighbors and share any safety concerns you have.
A scanned document with the following text: Online Etiquette — "Netiquette" Every community has its codes of behavior, and the electronic community is no exception. America Online defines what is unacceptable with its Terms of Service, but what is acceptable is not the same as what is desirable. To enjoy your time online, and to get a good response from other members of the community, you should have a basic understanding of netiquette. Most of it is common sense, or the same good manners you use in the real world. Some fundamental rules of netiquette are: Be polite, or at least civil. Beyond the tenets of good manners, and the common-sense wisdom that civility works better than hostility, it is particularly important to watch your words. Online, no one can hear your voice. What you would have said hesitantly, or ironically, or with a shrug, appears online as words alone, usually with more force than you intend. Make sure that you always ask yourself if you would like to receive from a stranger what you are about to send. Be brief. It costs money to read online. Also, reading online is more tiring than reading a book. Long-winded, clause-filled passages, elegant though they may be, get skipped.
The cover and intro page from a scanned AOL "Information Provider's Guide." The cover is a SUPER 90's "jazz cup" style design with three superimposed copies of the AOL logo in teal, purple, and blue. It is labeled "Revision 1.0, July 1994."
instead of "AI 2027" hypebeasting, it's now "Segway 2027"! We predict that the impact of Segway mobility devices over the next decade will be enormous, exceeding that of the Industrial Revolution. "Mid 2025: Stumbling Scooters - The world will see its first glimpse of a future where you will quite literally /lean in/." "Unreliable Vehicle is like walking at *8x human speed*"
a worn sign reading, "DANGER: SLUSHING"
An email from Polygon, newsletter@polygon.com, titled "rrrrr" with the email body "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" Also, the footer says "You are subscribed to Moms.com newsletters" but the logo is Polygon and so is the email domain
Inside an industrial-looking science facility, a bright-yellow overhead sign reads "WALL DRUG 97 MILES ➡ 2037 FEET ⬆." Wall Drug is a roadside attraction best known for being a long ways away from anything, really, and so they have signs for thousands of miles/km advertising their presence. I think they are still advertising free ice water, to give you an idea of their age
I look at the camera, wearing a hard hat, high-vis coveralls, and a headlamp. I'm in a rough-hewn drift, or tunnel, with other similarly dressed folks behind me. There is rail on the ground, with ladders, fencing, and industrial fittings everywhere.
In a dark room, lit only by sparkling black-and-white high-contrast projections, hangs a dragon-like creature made with a spindly branch of wood, bark, and natural materials. This being is suspended over a hemisphere in the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, a second being is also hanging over the ball, brooding. In the shadows, a number of paper hangings decorate each wall.
The side of a cardboard box from electronics distributor DigiKey, with handwritten numerals vertically written: 7825. The digits are distinctively lettered, with extra precise flourishes and corners for legibility. As an example, the seven digit includes a left-hand downwards notch on the top of the seven; the eight is composed of two individual near-perfect circles instead of a figure-eight; the two and five each include railway-like switches of direction for their inside corners. 5 out of 5, no notes
labeling myself in a crop of the photo. I am standing in the way back due to Loud 🤘
A photo of my studio building, with a mural by Jeff Huntington (Jahru). It depicts three overlapping femme-presenting faces in purple, green, orange, and red vertical stripes. Overlaid on the photo is text: "Open studios tour 2025: May 10, 2025, 12:00PM–5:00PM"
A roughly footlong (30cm) chunk of a split log, complete with bark, hangs in front of a wall. On the wall behind it is a bit of orange light.
A headline on the Guardian: "A crack in the manosphere: Joe Rogan's guests are revolting"
a bunch of Uline catalog pages--the company sells office supplies--glued to a papier-mache substrate. they show things like "Air Mesh Chairs," "Poly Top Worktables," and "Cabinet Workbenches". the catalog pages are wrinkly, wet, and glued higgly-piggly in all directions and rotations.
A glowing, flower-shaped metal sculpture stands in a dark elevator. It is covered in lights and screens glowing blue and orange.
An enigmatic detail photo shows a shiny ball covered in dappled light, reflecting onto a brown, concrete floor. It looks a bit like a spacecraft.
A wall-mounted machine with four carriages, each containing a glowing red screen. Each screen shows one line of a poem: "Solitary volume greeted / dart like darling birds / south-wind / like a fairy dream." Further down on the industrial/metal machine is a lamplit control panel with four touchable tracks.
An absolutely chicken-fried sign in the desert. It's almost totally illegible and is cracked and browned beyond belief. If you study it for several minutes, you may be able to read: "AREA CLOSED to protect natural features and ensure public safety DO NOT ENTER"
A new bar in Northeast D.C.’s H Street Corridor is presenting a new, novel way to buy beer. The Big Board offers burgers, brews and the chance to drive your own price. As co-owner Eric Flannery explains, the fluctuating beer prices come from a special algorithm which “changes depending on how many people are here, what day of the week it is, what type of beers are being ordered.” But the bottom line, he says, “is the more type of beer that somebody orders, the lower the price goes.”
A metal dais or pedestal; step on it, and the "Relax-a-Lator" promises you "a tonic! a real treat! For tired and aching feet!" It has old-timey hand lettering and a coin slot. "'Step Up' for a 'Pick Up'"—"Tired? No pep? Feet hurt?" It is nestled among other arcade machines in this photo from the Pinball Museum in Las Vegas, NV, if I remember right.
Mr. Musk’s team did not get into the [U.S. Institute for Peace] building until officers from Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department showed up, Ms. Lin said. Institute officials had called the police to report that Department of Government Efficiency members were trespassing, she said, but the police instead cleared institute leaders from the building. A police spokesman, Tom Lynch, said that officers were called to the scene on a report of an unlawful entry and said the police left after the people who were seeking unlawful entry had left. He did not say who those people were or provide more information on what happened at the scene aside from the fact that no arrests had been made.
a sign reading, CHUCK, WHAT THE ----??
Wikipedia article for "Invidia": In Latin, invidia is the sense of envy, a "looking upon" associated with the evil eye, from invidere, "to look against, to look in a hostile manner."[1] Invidia ("Envy") is one of the Seven Deadly Sins in Christian belief. (Along with a picture of a statue grimacing)
Screenshot of "Your muted words" (on bluesky): "divisive tone"
A toggle setting on Android, "Manage notification categories for each app."
OPEN LETTER TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY “Let us raise science aloft as the olive branch of peace and the emblem of hope.” — JOHN WESLEY POWELL, 1882, founding member of the National Geographic Society The current administration is dismantling U.S. science-based agencies, defunding them, vilifying and firing their workers by the thousands, and clawing back billions in congressionally approved funds for vital research programs. We former and current employees and contractors of the National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners, who have signed this letter and collectively represent nearly 3,600 years of experience, urge you now—without delay—to do everything in your power to push back against these unprecedented attacks. We urge you to affirm, with force and conviction, and in a sustained way, the primary importance of the work of these agencies. For decades, National Geographic has been privileged to draw on the research and discoveries of organizations such as NOAA, NSF, NASA, NPS, EPA, NIH, USGS, USAID, and CDC. Many National Geographic Society grantees are themselves either funded by these groups or doing groundbreaking science under their aegis. Federally supported science is at the heart of National Geographic’s mission—its lifeblood. It is also imperative for the success of our country’s economy and is the foundation of our progress and well-being. For its part, National Geographic has played a leading role in bringing to the world knowledge hard-won by U.S. scientists. That knowledge bestows prestige upon our nation. It is Powell’s “emblem of hope.” It makes the United States—and the world—safer, stronger, more prosperous.
Nine smooshy-faced white masc-presenting people in suits, generated for the query "CEO" by DALL-E mini.
A screenshot of an Instagram post from the account "generative_series" promoting themselves and their "panels of speakers." To do so, they are using a picture of the artist Chris Combs gesturing in front of a slide. The slide is a grid of nine images showing Dall-E Mini's generated output for the word "model," and they are all nine white and femme-presenting.
a screenshot of a webpage's intercept captcha: "Press & Hold to confirm you are a human (and not a bot)". And then there's a weird lozenge-shaped button that you have to hold down for TEN FUCKING SECONDS LMAO
screenshot of Hyperallergic article about a public ad reading "Help eliminate Elon," with an X over an illustration of Elon (kinda) giving a nazi salute. It also, inexplicably, has a USAID logo. Article headline: The Street Artist Behind the Viral “Anti-Elon Musk” Ads Deck: Winston Tseng’s satirical ad falsely attributed to USAID at a bike dock in Washington, DC, elicited frenzied responses from Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
A strange, computer-like device glows on a tabletop. It has a yellow shell and a cavernous interior filled with a projected image, which has a C64-like chunky font reading, "IT'S ALL FLUX, YOU KNOW."
A screenshot of a file browser view of a tabletop artwork. The artwork is showing a pixelated view of a hand waving in front of it. The point of this image, however, is the ENORMOUS filename stipulated by Requirements: "Combs_Chris_Mirrortron_Vintage VFD display, custom controller, camera, glass, tabletop clock enclosure_9.5x9x4in or 24x23x10cm HxWxD_2024.jpg"
A screenshot of the following extremely annoying text: "Be sure to label all work correctly when submitting JPEGs on Jotform (ie First Name_Last Name_Title of work_Medium_Size_Year Artwork Completed.JPEG) This field is required."
A screenshot of The Guardian's most viewed articles today. The top one is an opinion piece, "Why are the Democrats so spineless?"
a scalp massager that looks kinda like a spider or squid. It is composed of about a dozen wire arms coming out in arcs from a central handle. The arms each have a beaded end that tickles the hell out of your god damned brain
an in-depth side-view diagram of the Denmark Strait Cataract, which is an undersea waterfall of cold water rushing down 3,500 meters to the bottom of the seafloor, four times the height of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. It's labeled "The world's largest WATERFALL is in the OCEAN" and is caused by two different temperatures of water
Screenshot of a Post article with this text: "Those are by the prolific Chris Combs, who shows often locally. The more striking of the two is “S(p)lash,” a long, skinny LED matrix set at a diagonal. Within the piece’s skinny confines, pixels conjure watery motion. The ever-changing display can merely suggest ripples and waves but sometimes depicts such recognizable features as a waterfall. Oddly, this high-tech fabrication is the show’s most bucolic entry. [Picture of a painting by Susan Ragland, “Face 34.” It shows a dark-skinned woman with a white afro, bright red lips, and frenetic, gnarled earrings, one star-shaped and the other like a planet or ball of yarn. She is set against a green background.] Among the other better-known participants are Pat Goslee, Helen Zughaib, Anne Bouie and Ceci Cole McInturff. Goslee makes vibrant semi-abstractions that encompass representational imagery such as the stenciled flowers of “Natural State.” The Beirut-born Zughaib’s contributions include a black-and-white mandala of concentric rings interspersed with the Arabic words for “peace” and “home” inscribed repeatedly in circular calligraphy. Bouie and McInturff incorporate biological relics — a deer skull and bird wings, respectively — into assemblages that possess a talismanic power."
A screenshot of a story on Medium: "I opted for a solution that changed my life forever! It’s so simple yet I’ve never seen anyone else do it: Just Flip A Coin!" and then there's a picture of someone getting ready to flip a coin and THEN the story is INTERRUPTED by a modal: "Create an account to read the full story. The author made this story available to Medium members only." I can't wait to read the rest, here, take my credit card
In this silent video, long grasses wave in slow motion on a very wide LCD screen. The screen is set in a case made of distressed stud lumber, and obscuring its view is an oft-repaired wire grid with a branch grown through it. It is called "Elysium."
A large, round wall sculpture with a central orange beacon surrounded by many small mirrors. It is enclosed with a rusty metal wall.
A photo of two artworks during a show installation. There is a colorful wide sunset made of red, orange, and blue lenses, and a diagonal bar-shaped screen showing shimmering water.
a screenshot of a cute bunny game with a dumpling cart. the dumpling-selling bunny is being patted and it shows a heart but it's for naught
A small wooden-cased instrument with four lights flash. The lights are each a different color, labeled either "A," "T," "G," or "C." The overall vibe is of a prototype lab instrument. In this silent video, a hand reaches from offscreen and adjusts a knob on the machine, which changes the blinking speed.
The same sculpture in regular room lighting shows its metallic box more clearly. Its aluminum is oxidized and a little bit worn, but has clean, crisp edges still. The window glass used to construct the crystals has a greenish tint, more visible here.
A geode-like tabletop sculpture sparkles. It is formed from an aluminum box that has been pierced with so many holes that it broke apart in the middle. The box halves have been filled with a geode-like crystalline structure constructed by the artist from broken safety glass. It is gleaming, with internal aqua/cyan LEDs pulsing over the course of this silent video.
the sooty industrial pushbutton labeled "Scream Into the Void" beckons. an offscreen finger emerges and presses it. while the button is held—and no longer—a muffled but bloodcurdling scream is heard
an industrial button labeled "Scream Into the Void." It looks sooty.
A decrepit industrial wall-mounted box, wider than it is tall. It has a weathered yellow-and-rust front plate, a button labeled "Emergency Stop" which is missing, a crank handle, and a light.
The wall-mounted wave-shaped artwork is now visibly stormy: lights cycle and play over the waves, dangling white LEDs churn, and occasionally, a wave edge lights with "lightning."
A large, wall-mounted artwork with a wave-shaped form. The wave itself is made of many blue and white cables, along with white, round plastic reels of electronic components. It resembles the next image.
A weathered blue-and-cream machine with a coin slot, a central lens, and lots of worn, hand-painted labels. "Insert 25 Cents to FEEL SOMETHING," "tired? no pep? feet hurt?" ""Step Up' for a 'Pick Up'"
A silent underwater video of bubbles streaming upwards towards sunlight. It was filmed in Berkeley Springs, WV.