reanimator

Thanks to Suzanne from Public Historian who pointed us to Arthur Ganson, who’s got a ton of crazy weird machines for view on youtube, not to mention in the MIT Museum.

Jansen Addendum

And here is a video:

STRANDBEESTEN from Alexander Schlichter on Vimeo.

Pretty Art Robots

Jansen, who comes off as a mad scientist with a hint of a god complex, has been developing (“evolving”) these things for almost twenty years, and his labor is evident in the creatures’ graceful movement. Most are made from PVC, but one particularly striking Strandbeest is made from 3.2 tons of what looks to be Corten steel. It’s so perfectly engineered that a single person can push it around, its many lumbering metal legs attached to an axis that somehow lets a person move forty times his body weight.

More inside.

kinetica

Since seeing the Calder exhibition at the Whitney a few months ago, we’ve been increasingly interested in mobiles, kinetic sculptures, and the like.

We love the “natural” simulacrum of Casey Curran’s “Oceania” and, from a design perspective, we’re appreciating the simple elements in the work of Julie Frith.

Do you have a favorite object or collection?