Video showing the process of making of pinwheel gears for a kinetic sculpture

Doppio Espresso Dance from aaron kramer artist on Vimeo.

Artist Aaron Kramer created this great video in which he shows us the inner workings of one of his kinetic sculptures. Along the way, we learn a lot about how to make a set of pinwheel gears.

From Aaron Kramer:

I had always wanted to make a piece that contained a pinwheel gear made from wood and metal. These gears are the kind you would find on an old windmill. They seem pretty simple but are tough to get right. Starting with the tin can base and half an idea I first needed to make a set of working gears. I used Adobe Illustrator to generate my own templates. Transferred them to wood disks that I cut with a hole saw.

The method using Adobe Illustrator is covered in Cabaret Mechanical Movement: Understanding Movement and Making Automata.

If you don't happen to have Adobe Illustrator, you can also use an online gear template generator. I explain that process in an article on Making Pinwheels Patterns.

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"The Last Prussian Conjurer " automaton magician by Thomas Kuntz

Sculptor and automaton artist, Thomas Kuntz, has just finished a new piece called The Last Prussian Conjurer. Like many of his pieces, this one performs a magic trick. Keep your eye on the ball!

From the artist's description:

Inspired in part by WW1 anti-war and allied propaganda art. Additional inspiration came from the Diableries/Totentanz traditions with a healthy dose of Dada, Hans Richter and Monty Python!

Kuntz is both a masterful sculptor and accomplished machinist. This means that everything in the piece was made from scratch -- the figure, brass cams, levers and all. Even the spike on the Prussian's helmet was made from brass turned on an antique precision watchmaker's lathe. A part of the cam making process is shown in the video, as is his fantastic original clay sculpture.

Propaganda art can be so exaggerated and direct in its message. I can see why it might inspire an automaton. To see what I mean, check out these books and posters showing WWI propaganda art.

See more automata by Thomas Kuntz on his web site.

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Wormanizer automaton with dual Geneva wheels

Check out this awesome automaton by Keith Seifert entitled "Wormanizer". The piece features a lovesick male inchworm pursuing a female inchwork around a circle. The piece cleverly users two geneva wheel mechanisms to produce the distinctive inchworm motions.

See more art by Keith Seifert on his web site.

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Ghost illusion automaton by Thomas Kuntz

Another masterpiece by Thomas Kuntz! Watch the video and read about the work that went into this automaton. There is a reason he is probably my favorite of all living automata makers.

From the video describing the automaton:

The French poet and notorious absinthe drinker Paul Verlaine sits in the late night Parisian cafe sipping his "Humble Ephemeral absinthe". No words flow from his quill. It's nearing closing hour and through his blurred vision the Green Muse appears to him offering inspiration and a kiss...

As he begins writing, a cool breeze is felt and the image of his dead friend Arthur Rimbaud appears seated next to him, but its not possible he died years before from an abscessed leg! A last sip of absinthe peels the face away from the apparition revealing a smiling death's head. He knows his bitterness and loneliness will soon be put to rest in a final slumber...

Thia automaton represents 5 months worth of development. Just from a sculptural standpoint it required making over 27 sculptural pieces from scratch including the four main characters each based on real people . The debauched, albeit groundbreaking poets Paul Verlaine Arthur Rimbaud, "The green Fairy" (modeled after Blake Bolger), and last but not least Bi bi- La -Puree (who stands outside and cues the show) resplendent in his ragged clothing, musketeer hat and stolen umbrella.

From the technical side this automaton was difficult to do in small scale (roughly 1/12 scale on the interior figures) all the movements are stored on brass cams, 12 of them just for the main movements; heads, arms, bodies etc. and other mechanisms, gears springs levers etc, to control various systems. These cams we're worked out in wood before hand machining them to the final form. The illusion works on the Pepper's ghost principle, a staple in the grand era of magic and showmanship. The Sculpture, mechanical design, engineering, painting, etc. are all the work of Thomas J. Kuntz.

See more automata by Thomas Kuntz on his web site.

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The Turk chess playing automaton sculpture

Thomas Kuntz is a Los Angeles-based sculptor who builds automata and other magical pieces. Here is a static sculpture by Thomas Kuntz of the infamous chess playing automaton that was known as "The TURK". Limited to only 25 world wide, this one currently on ebay is number 20 of 25.

About The Turk sculpture:

This amazing and beautiful hand-finished sculpture is an incredibly detailed jewel of a piece, it has been meticulously cast in a special hybrid resin with some turned metal parts of brass and accents in steel. It sits on a luxurious velvet oval base atop a solid marble base. Only three of the edition have this special base which also has the maker's badge on the back marked "Thomas J. Kuntz USA". The hours needed to finish this piece, about 48-60 hours of time not counting the time it took to sculpt the original and tool the molds! Please see the photos of the micro handle components being made on the watchmakers lathe. The whole cabinet is only 4" in width! This sculpture has ended up in some very interesting and important collections collections.

Here is the full ebay listing with a number of photographs of The Turk, chess playing automaton sculpture.

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Incredible animal sculptures by Ron Pippin

Take a look at the astounding sculpture by artist Ron Pippin. Shown here is a piece entitled Solar Deer. Below is a detailed photo of the same piece. Wow.

See more sculpture by Ron Pippin on his web site.

[ Thanks Aaron!]

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