Thursday, March 31, 2011

Theo Jansen - Kinetic Strandbeests on the Beach: Alchemy of Art & Engineering

http://c1.cleantechnica.com/files/2008/08/strandbeest7.jpg

Open Culture (great site, by the way) posted this video with a little commentary. I've been a fan of Jansen's kinetic sculptures since the first time I saw a video of them a decade or more ago. You all have probably seen them too, but who cares, they're amazing to watch.

Kinetic Strandbeests on the Beach: Alchemy of Art & Engineering

in Art | March 30th, 2011


Since 1990, Dutch artist Theo Jansen has given life to Strandbeests. They’re made of nothing more than a mass of yellow plastic tubes. But these kinetic sculptures feed off of the wind. They roam the beaches on their own. And they evolve. Soon enough, Jansen says, you will see Strandbeests living in herds, and who knows what the alchemy of art and engineering will bring next.

This clip comes from a BBC production, Nature Knows Best, that aired late last year. You can also catch Jansen introducing his self-propelling beach animals at TED.

Here is a longer video (a one hour lecture) from the University of Michigan, Theo Jansen - The Great Pretender.
Brought to you by U-M School of Art & Design.
Thursday, November 6, 2008

Since about 1990, Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been working hard on new forms of life. Plastic yellow conduit is used as the basic material of this new nature. He makes skeletons that are able to walk on the wind. Eventually he wants to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives.


No comments: