Theo Jansen’s animated works are a fusion of art and engineering. He has been creating wind-walking examples of artificial life since 1990. His . The basic design of the so called Strandbeest uses multiple pairs of legs set on a central crankshaft, which produces a galloping-herd effect.
Jansen cares about the environment and produces his living structures with recycled items. The ‘stomach’ of the sculpture is made with retired plastic bottles that capture the air pumped by the wind. To harness the wind, Jansen employs bicycle pumps, plastic tubing and rubber rings. Large flapping wings gather the most wind, allowing for its storage.
One of the most impressive features of the kinetic artwork is the locomotion. The strandbeest walk with legs rather than roll on wheels, as would be expected of an inanimate object, in order to more effectively cross large areas of sand. The ‘hips’ of the strandbeest remain level, while the legs kick forth, without lurching forward.
Reuben Margolin is an American-born artist and sculptor known for his mechanically-driven kinetic sculptures of wave-forms. He creates large-scale kinetic sculptures that use pulleys and motors to recreate the complex movements and structures we see in nature. Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reubens artwork is diverse, with sculptures ranging from tiny to looming, motorized to hand-cranked.
Below is an interview of Marco Cochrane, the sculptor who designed Bliss Dance, the 40 feet (12meters) high dancing woman at the Burning Man Festival 2011. People used his I-phone app to control the lighting inside the art piece.
Above: The Bliss Dance Sculpture at Burning Man with Light controlled by I-Phone App.
I came across an article from the Architecture/Art website Muuuz which Andrea Graziano posted on his very prolific Facebookpage. The sculpture below were created by a Japanese artist called Harumi Nakashima (1950- Bio Below). He took part of the Sodeisha group in Japanese Modern Art, his main interest lie in the Earth and its constant dialogue with his own hands as well as Movement (source). The sculptures are currently exhibited at the Galerie Nec Nilsson and Chiglien in Paris.
“Born in Japan in 1950, Harumi Nakashima studied at the Osaka Art College, where he switched from a design to a ceramics concentration. He has since gained notoriety for his free-form sculptures and his dot patterning. He also did a series similar to the Ecstatic Series, in which he did not employ his characteristic dots. Without the patterning, the dynamic bubbling shapes are nevertheless undulating and vibrant.” Artist’s statement: ”Attaching a coil pinch by pinch as if I listen to the voice of the clay, clay, techniques, and I become a trinity to produce a work.” – Honoo Geijutsu article From the Museum of Arts and Design
Above: Porcelain Sculpture from the “Suffering Form” Series
“Manuel A. Báez is an Associate Professor at Carleton University, Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, where he is also the Coordinator of Crossings Inerdisciplinary Research and the Director of the Carleton De-Formation Research Unit. Previously, he worked and practiced in New York City while teaching at the Architecture Schools at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the Rhode Island School of Design.
His work as an architect, artist and researcher draws inspiration from the generative potential of the forms, structures and integrative systems generated by elemental processes that exist throughout the natural environment. His educational concerns, interests and objectives are focused on the development of teaching methods and procedures derived from the research.”
Below are some images of his work, students work and his TED lecture. He explores the “malleability of weaved bamboo cells assembled as a fabric” and produces beautiful thin and delicate generative structures.
