About this Artwork:

This is a mixed media artwork exhibiting a collection of computer chips used in various games from pinball machines to home video consoles. This collection covers a period of over 30 years, 1972 to 2005. The increase in game processing power during this period is over 2,500 times. In the beginning, games started out in monochrome and by 2005 were using over 16 millions colors. Games went from moving a single dot on a screen to rendering over 500 million triangles per second.

When pinball game designers first looked at microprocessors they were more interested in driving design costs down and increasing game reliability, than in improving the gaming experience. However, designers quickly grasped the potential of the microprocessor to vary game play, increase realism, and increase excitement. Video games started as simple games, limited by the simple hardware on which they were implemented. While initially it was the capabilities of the hardware that drove sales, eventually it was the quality of the game software that determined success. Soon the game designs had enough flexibility in the hardware that number and types of games soon exploded. Game designers,  and software requirements, pushed gaming  technology from simple processors and glue logic to 64-bit streaming processors and  high sophisticated graphics engines.

This artwork would make a great addition to a computer chip collection, or just a great display of game technology for game room.

Framing:

The artwork is framed in a 9"x20" black shadow box frame, with glass. All framing materials are acid free. A narrative about the artwork that includes the artist’s signature is placed on the back of the artwork.

Production:  Limited by availability of chips.

Shipping:  I ship by US Priority Mail. I combine shipping costs. Just add all your items to the cart, and then checkout.

Want to see more ChipScapes?  

Click here to see more ChipScapes_TM in my store on eBay

Also please check out my ChipScapes.com webstore.

Computer chips start out as ordinary sand, which is silicon dioxide. However, the silicon must be made very, very pure. The first step is to melt the sand, in a furnace that reaches about 3200^o F, and mix with carbon. This first purification process creates 99% pure Silicon, a common output is Silicon Carbide. The Silicon Carbide is processed in a trichlorosilane distillation method to create 99.9999% pure silicon called polycrystalline silicon. The polysilicon is broken up into chunks. These chunks are melted in a crucible at about 2500^o F. A silicon crystal seed is dipped in molten silicon and slowly drawn out to create a cylinder of silicon. These silicon cylinders are some of the purest crystals on the planet. Once the silicon cylinder is grown to the desired diameter, it is sawed into wafers. These wafers are polished to achieve a very flat mirror surface. Transistors, and other micro-electronic parts, are built on the polished wafer in layers in a process called etching. The wafer is then sawed into its individual chips. Each chip is mounted in an electronic package that serves to protect it and connect it to the outside world. It has been said that computer chips are the greatest value added product in the world. We essentially take a pile of sand and change it into thousands of dollars worth of computer chips.

These artworks are the creation of ChipScapes_TM artist Steve Emery. ChipScapes_TM are photographs taken of computer chips, boards, and other computer artifacts. They are sort of chip landscapes, or ChipScapes_TM for short. Most often a macro-lens or microscope is used with special lightning to achieve these unique artworks. Intel, IBM, Fairchild, DEC, Signetics, Intersil, AMD, Zilog, Motorola, MOS, NEC, Texas Instruments, are some of the great chip making companies. Chips like the Intel 4004, MOS 6502, Zilog Z80, AMD 2901, IBM PowerPC and others have changed the way people work and play. ChipScapes_TM are dedicated to preserving and sharing these computing and communication technologies that changed the world. ChipScapes_TM artworks are fine collectible artworks. ChipScapes_TM come is a variety of shapes sizes and colors. Clusters of my artwork make for stunning displays! A ChipScape_TM would make a great gift for the nerd, geek, engineer, programmer, IT executive, or just that technology savvy person in your life.

If you are interested in art on a subject or chip that you don't see listed, please message me. I have hundreds of artwork and cannot keep them all listed. If I have something that I think you would like, I will list it, and you can buy it, or not. 

Also, I do custom artworks. If I think it will be of general interest, the pricing will be similar to what you see in my store. If it is very specific to your interests the pricing will be higher, since I can't spread the development costs over multiple sales.

For more information about ChipScapes_TM, please check out my ChipScapes_TM  website. 

For more information about chip collecting as a hobby, please check out my AntiqueTech_TM  website.