The sculpture of Arthur Ganson at the MIT Museum

If you happen to be in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you will want to stop by the MIT Museum which features an exhibit of Arthur Ganson’s kinetic sculptures.

If you are unfamiliar with Ganson's work, he uses the elements of machines, found, and fabricated objects to create though-provoking interactive kinetic sculptures. The sculpture shown here, Cory's Yellow Chair, depicts random yellow pieces floating in space. The pieces suddenly assemble into a small yellow chair for an instant before exploding apart once again. I could watch this for hours.

From the MIT Museum web site:

His sculptures explore the nature of oiled surfaces, object manipulation and slow explosions, and are created from a range of materials that he fabricates or finds.

Here is where you can learn more about Arthur Ganson and the exhibit of his work at the MIT Museum.

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Students seek info on writing/drawing automata

Reader David Meyers is working with a group of middleschoolers in a design class. The students have become fascinated by the writing/drawing automata like the tin clown artist, Arthur Ganson's Faster! and Maillardet's Automaton. The video shown here features a prototype machine by Yoav Kleiner, which draws a nude figure. Given what I happen to know of the upcoming movie, Hugo, I would say these students are several months ahead of the what is about to become a very popular topic!

David and his students are looking for any instructions, guides, templates to aid in creating their own. If you know of any books, web sites, people, or kits please let me know via the contact form, or leave a comment at the end of this post.

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Faster! - writing/racing machine by Arthur Ganson

Here is another brilliant piece by kinetic artist Arthur Ganson. This machine was built for the World Sculpture Racing Society in Boston.

According to Arthur Ganson:

The cast hand is my own and the pen, controlled by three cams (x, y and z axis), moves in three dimensions and writes the word "faster!" on an index card while being pushed down the street. The faster the cart is pushed, the faster it writes. Warning, an out of control feedback loop between creator and creation can result in dangerously fast speeds and certain death.

See more kinetic art by Arthur Ganson on his web site.

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Ramp-walkers get a lift from an elevator machine

You know we love mechanical ramp-walkers here The Automata / Automaton Blog. Here's something we haven't seen: a system to raise the walkers back to the top of the ramp!

When asked to do a section of a chain reaction sculpture with Arthur Ganson, artist Hayes Raffle was faced with a challenge. The video above shows the solution.

The artist explains the design process:

I had been working on these little quirky walkers that have two feet and erratically make their way down a hill and I immediately thought to use them. My sculptures are generally cyclic but a chain reaction requires something linear, so it was a trick. I holed myself up in my studio for a couple weeks making all sorts of useless cyclical machines, and somehow thought to have the walkers all make their way into a big pot of soup like lemmings or soilent green.

I made an elevator that picked them up in sequence and set them walking on the top of the hill, and the machine ended up looking like a big fertility goddess ... she actually had a natural grace in the S-shaped movement she used to lift them to the top of the hill! The walkers are erratic and don't always make it to the bottom smoothly, but I did manage to design a couple that could avoid the edges of the hill, so that was an exciting innovation.

In the end, the crowd got very excited and cheered for all of my walkers' successes. When the fourth one dropped in the soup, the pot fell on a burner that ignited beneath it and triggered the next machine in the show.

Learn more about the inventions and designs of the amazing Hayes Raffle on his web site.

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Arthur Ganson on the first tenet of Buddhism

I attended the opening reception of the Move Me exhibit last night. I had the great pleasure of seeing this piece in person and hearing Arthur Ganson speak about it.

The piece features a motorized cam spinning slowly. A cam follower rests on the cam and rides its contours. Attached to the follower is a long arm which reaches across the piece, its end right next to the head of a plush, human figure. The contours of the cam cause the arm to sporadically poke the poor figure in the the back of the head. The figure can do little about. As the artist explained, the piece represents The First Noble Truth of Buddhism, which basically boils down to "there is suffering in the world". The entire thing -- not counting the hand-sewn figure -- is constructed in that inimitable Ganson style: blackened metal, whirring motor, springs, wire-formed worm and screw gears, spoked wheels, tiny spot welds, and a hint of oil. Delightful: a machine demonstrating one of the most human of concepts.

Arthur Ganson hinted we may be seeing more pieces in this theme, perhaps dealing with the other three Noble Truths. Having recently adopted a mediation practice, I for one, can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

I also had the chance to see sculptures by several other talented artist currently showing at AXIOM. I will feature more of them in the days to come.

See more about The First Noble Truth by Arthur Ganson at the Cabaret mechanical Theatre web site.

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Move Me - kinetic sculpture exhibit now in Boston

Move Me is a exhibit featuring the kinetic sculpture of Chris Fitch, Arthur Ganson, Tom Haney, Steve Hollinger and Erica von Schilgen. The exhibit is located at AXIOM Center for New and Experimental Media outside of Boston, Massachusetts and runs from April 28th to May 28th, 2011.

From the AXIOM web site:

The works explore the intimate, poetic drama created as electricity, clockworks or human interaction physically "moves" kinetic sculpture but also emotionally "moves" an observer. Ranging from the clandestine use of mechanics and electronics to the intentionally obvious revelation of the inner workings, the show explores the relationship created between artwork and viewer when moving sculpture's narratives unfold in real time.

Where:
AXIOM
141 Green Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

When:
April 28th to May 28th, 2011
Opening Reception and Artist’s Talk
Thursday, April 28, 2011 6-8 pm

Here is a link to the AXIOM web site for more information on the Move Me exhibit.

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Kinetica Art Fair, London, Feb. 4th – 6th, 2011

Today is the start of the Kinetica Art Fair at the Kinetica Museum in London. This year the event will explore the evolution of the human body, brain, mind and consciousness via various means including kinetic, electronic, robotic, sound, light, time-based and multi-disciplinary new media art.

Our good friends at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre will be at Kinetica Art Fair with pieces by Paul Spooner, Arthur Ganson, Fi Henshall, Pascale Michalski and Carlos Zapata.

Here is a link to more information on the Kinetica Art Fair.

[ Also posted today on the Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik ]

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Margot's Cat, kinetic sculpture by Arthur Ganson

I was recently reminded by a reader of one of my favorite kinetic sculptures by Arthur Ganson. Shown in the video above is his piece Margot's Cat.

From the YouTube video description:

This machine was inspired by watching a randomly shaped object bouncing off the surface of a slow moving, reciprocating and irregularly shaped piston head on the moon. Of course anything is possible in the virtual world of the computer.

The doll house chair seems to be the perfect object to bounce nearly weightlessly over the unsuspecting cat. In this machine, the chair is passive and all motion is due to interference by the cat. The large disk at the back serves to both counterbalance the arm and give more mass to the chair itself. The motion of the chair is complex and will never repeat.

Margot Clark was my wonderful and inspiring art history teacher at the University of New Hampshire. When she passed away she left a houseful of cats.

See more kinetic sculptures by Arthur Ganson on his web site.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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Arthur Ganson: Machines and the Breath of Time

Here is a film featuring the amazing kinetic sculptor, Arthur Ganson.

From the film description:

Arthur Ganson uses humble materials to create kinetic sculptures of humor, drama, and emotion. His work has been shown around the world, and has been an ongoing inspiration for the 10,000 Year Clock project at Long Now. His machinated gestures play with time spans that range from the epochal to the momentary.

One of the touchstone pieces for the Clock project is the Machine with Concrete. The input of the piece is a 200 revolution per minute motor, and after series of gear reductions it's output gear is cast in concrete. Due to the multiplicative nature of the gear train it will take upwards of two trillion years to break the final gear.

Here is where you can order the film Arthur Ganson: Machines and the Breath of Time.

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Arthur Ganson's motorized walking wishbone

Here is a great video of one of my favorite kinetic sculptures by Arthur Ganson. Who knew a wishbone could be so evocative?

See more kinetic sculptures by the amazing Arthur Ganson on his web site.

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Arthur Ganson @TED: Sculpture that's truly moving

Here is another amazing TED lecture -- this one from one of the greats of kinetic sculpture, Arthur Ganson. The video is about 15 minutes long, and worth every second.

More about Arthur Ganson from the TED web site:

A modern-day creator of "twittering machines," Arthur Ganson uses simple, plain materials to build witty mechanical art. But the wit is not simply about Rube Goldberg-ian chain-reaction gags (though you'll find a few of those). His work examines the quiet drama of physical motion, whether driven by a motor or by the actions of the viewer. Notions of balance, of rising and falling, of action and reaction and consequence, play themselves out in wire and steel and plastic.

Ganson has been an artist-in-residence at MIT (where the Lemelson-MIT Award Program named him an Inventor of the Week, and where his show "Gestural Engineering" is ongoing) and has shown his work at art and science museums around the world -- including a current, held-over show at the phaeno in Wolfsburg, Germany.

[ Thanks Richard and Steve! ]

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Interview - Arthur Ganson's Influence on 2nd Artist

Jeff Lieberman is a musician, photographer, and robotics expert. He is also the host of "Time Warp" -- a show on the Discovery Channel. He speaks about his encounter as a teenager with the work of Arthur Ganson during this Studio 360 interveiw. This a very nice, candid take on a talented artist by another artist.

Here is the interview for you to hear:

[ Thanks Aaron! ]

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Cat-A-Pults: Chain-reaction Toy by Arthur Ganson

Designed by celebrated mechancial artist, Arthur Ganson, the Cat-A-Pult is a new interactive, chain-reaction toy.

Each Cat-A-Pult can be adjusted to throw the included foam cats from one to six feet. With each set you get 5 catapults, 10 Cats, and instruction booklet with games and activities.

You design the layout of the Cat-A-Pults, set them up and adjust them to fly from room to room or contained on a table. This toy is not only a great idea but has great potential to be combined with other chain reaction toys like dominoes and marble-run tracks.

You can get the Cat-a-Pult from HandsOnToys.

Note: This new chain-reaction mechanical toy is not to be confused with the similarly named Cat-A-Pult, miniature cat flinging gun made by the great novelty company called Accoutrements.

What is it about flying cats that is so compelling? We may never know.

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PhantasieMechanik Exhibit @ phaeno flickr photos

I would be remiss in my duties, if I did not share with you this flickr set of the HUGE automata exhibit that opened on February 23rd at the phaeno Science Centre in Wolfsburg, Germany. I have it on good authority that the exhibit features some of the very best of automata and kinetic sculpture.

If you are going to be in Germany between now and the end of June, you own it to yourself to see this exhibit.

Here is a link to the flickr set of the PhantasieMechanik exhibition.
More on the exhibit from the Mechancical Blog run by CMT
Here is a link to the the phaeno web site.

PhantasieMechanik Exhibition at phaeno

Head over to The Mechanical Blog to read their recent posting about an upcoming exhibition in Wolfsburg, Germany.

The show will include 40 pieces from Cabaret Mechanical Theatre and 18 from American artist Arthur Ganson. There will also be works by Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, Eduard Bersudsky, and Norman Tuck.

Read all of the details about The PhantasieMechanik Exhibit.

Great Review of CMT Exhibit with Photo Sets

Over at the Pixelsumo blog, the author has a great review of a visit to the newly opened Cabaret Mechanical Theatre exhibit at Kinetica Museum that I told you about here.

The post features links to a huge set of flickr photos of the show itself.

Check out this great review of the CMT show at Pixelsumo.

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre at Kinetica Museum

If you can be or will be in the UK between April 6, 2007 and May 5, 2007 you must visit Kinetica Museum located at Old Spitalfields Market, London.

Kinetica will be hosting a major retrospective show on Cabaret Mechanical Theatre which includes more than 80 automata and a number of previously unseen works.

The show will feature artists including: Ron Fuller, Arthur Ganson, Tim Hunkin, Will Jackson, Pierre Mayer, Keith Newstead, Paul Spooner, and Carlos Zapata. (Many of my favorite artists are in that list!)

The exhibition will also include a series of talks and hands-on workshops by the founders of CMT and prominent British automata artists. Speakers will include: Tim Hunkin, Sue Jackson, Sarah Alexander, Will Jackson and Paul Spooner.

Learn more at CMT's Mechanical Blog or visit Kinetica Museum's site

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Cabaret Mechanical Theatre (CMT) dates back to 1979, when a handful of automaton artists began to work together as an artists collective.

The group, founded in 1983 in Falmouth by Sue Jackson, moved to London’s Covent Garden shortly thereafter, where their collection of automata immediately received both critical and popular acclaim.

They produced a book (shown at left) that teaches about basic mechanics and the construction of automata.