The most interesting thing in art: Theo Jansen and his kinetic sculptures. Theo Jansen and his amazing kinetic "animals" Wooden wonders from David Roy

Kinetic art in recent years has been at the peak of popularity, because masters who have mastered light and movement manage to achieve a stunning effect - to overcome the static nature of sculpture. In our review - 8 most original examples how art objects come to life.

1.Fantastic mechanism from the artist Lime Young

Lime Young is a true virtuoso. The master manages to construct the most complex mechanisms from circuit boards, microprocessors, servos and other mechanical devices. When put into action, his kinetic sculptures have a magnetic effect on viewers, because it is simply impossible for the average person to solve the mystery of the mechanism.

2.Car silhouettes made from metal spheres

appeared several years ago, but still causes delight. 714 metal spheres are folded into the shape of car models of different years.

3. Wing Flap by Bob Potts

70-year-old sculptor Bob Potts creates minimalist, but no less impressive works. His kinetic sculptures imitate the flapping of a bird's wings or the movement of an oar while rowing. It’s amazing how the master manages to convey the trajectory of movement so accurately.

4. "Dancing" sculptures by Anthony Howe

works with rough material – steel reinforcement, but creates surprisingly harmonious kinetic sculptures. In calm weather they look elegant and sophisticated, and with the first breath of wind they begin their fancy dance.

5. "Mechanical fish" from the art group ArtMechanicus

Thanks to the efforts of the art group ArtMechanicus, more than one “mechanical fish” has been born. The collection of Moscow masters includes “Fish-House”, reminiscent of Noah’s Ark, “Fish-Knight”, personifying a lonely horseman, “Nut Fish”, symbolizing the desire for beauty, and “Fish-ram” - an allegory of the struggle between living and inanimate principles.

6. Wooden Wonders by David Roy

David Roy gives his own touching and tender names - “Fiesta”, “Summer Rain”, “Sun Dance”, “Serenade”, “Zephyr”. Wooden creations are set in motion by the wind and immediately become light and graceful.

7. Kinetic device that plays the violin. By Seth Goldstein

Seth Goldstein is a mechanical engineer who managed to create a device that can copy the movement of hands. The kinetic sculpture, equipped with drives, rotors, pulleys and computer chips, recognizes audio files played on an electronic keyboard and then plays a melody on the violin.

8.Giant animal sculptures by Theo Jansen

Theo Jansen creates giant miracle monsters that, obeying gusts of wind, come to life from plastic tubes, cable cord, nylon ropes and adhesive tape. And then he arranges fun beach walks for insectoid animals. Without a doubt.

A new kind of life can be seen on Dutch beaches. Strange creatures move on dozens of legs with the help of the wind, which inflates large sails located on their backs.

The engineer who created the new life, Theo Jansen, named them strandbeasts, which means “beach animal” in Dutch. These sculptures have no eyes, and they avoid the surf with the help of special antennas. The most amazing thing is that these creatures are made of plastic tubes.

Engineer creating new life

Dutch artist and sculptor Theo Jansen gained fame thanks to his kinetic sculptures, featuring special mechanisms that resemble the skeletons of fairy-tale creatures.

Jansen began creating the first multi-legged beach monsters in the early 90s of the last century. The talented sculptor says that from then on he could not stop. Initially, his idea was that self-propelled creations were supposed to collect scattered sand into the dunes, thereby acting for the benefit of Holland. But in the end, the sculptor was delighted with his pets and did not pursue practical goals.

Theo Jansen, whose sculptures fascinate and surprise, has traveled all over the world with them. An amazing circus with self-propelled structures is awaited everywhere and received with delight.

from Holland

Having been constructing moving sculptures for over seventeen years, Jansen says he designs his work to fit more naturally into the wild. Wind and sun rays perfectly highlight the exclusivity of kinetic animals.

Theo Jansen lives and works on the seaside in the heart of The Hague. The creator admits that it is the sea breeze that is his main inspiration, because the main thing in kinetic sculptures is movement, which allows you to see the work in its entirety.

Modern mechanics: how mysterious mechanisms work

Any subsequent generation of beach sculptures differs from the previous one, becoming more modernized. Each time, the structures adapt better to the conditions of sandy beaches and more successfully withstand the influence of water and wind.

To create the frame, Jansen uses cheap PVC pipes. The interior of the sculpture consists of plastic bottles filled with air. Coming into contact with the wind, the figures begin to move. Many of them can move even when there is no wind, accumulating air pressure.

The talented sculptor Theo Jansen invented models that are securely fastened in one place during a storm and can even recognize their own immersion in water. This extraordinary evolution is a deliberate step that the author took in order to reproduce real life through art.

The windy art of Theo Jansen in Moscow

An exhibition of the Dutch sculptor entitled “Kinetic Life of Sandy Beaches” was also held in Moscow. She worked for several months at VDNKh in the Space pavilion. During the exhibition, the famous site turned into a beach along which amazing and mysterious creatures walked.

The exhibition was organized by the Polytechnic Museum, which moved to VDNKh due to the reconstruction of an outdated building. And if before this the cult of the machine reigned in the museum, now it has been replaced by new mechanisms with intelligence.

Every time, exhibitions of a talented engineer arouse interest and adoration among the mass public. Theo Jansen deserves to be called a real wizard. Wind-driven sculptures mysteriously hypnotize viewers who stand near them all day long.

The art of kinetics has been around for over a century. Its adherents believe that the effects of real movement and light may well become a subject of art. The Dutch artist and sculptor Theo Jansen shares the same opinion. For more than twenty years he has been working on the most wonderful mechanisms, which he calls Strandbeests. These are walking devices that have no specific practical application, but are undoubtedly a work of art.
Theo Jansen studied physics for seven years at a prestigious university in the Dutch city of Delft, then studied painting and worked as a professional artist, and today he is a famous inventor of unusual “living” creatures. He lives in Denmark and invents a new type of animal that feeds on energy wind and move like insects, moving their limbs. Theo constructs his animaris from cheap plastic tubing, plastic bottles, duct tape, and similar supplies.
Animaris are created for life on an open sandy surface - that is, in the coastal strip - where walking is much more convenient than moving on wheels. First, Theo calculates all the parameters on the computer, then assembles the models and releases his sailing centipedes onto the beach to watch his children fight the elements and each other. Jansen's passion for kinetics began after he developed a computer program - a simulator of the struggle for existence of multi-legged creatures. Theo didn’t even notice how the process of evolution went beyond the computer, and a creature was born consisting of hollow plastic tubes, nylon threads and tape. The “strand beest” family is constantly growing - experiments began with small mechanisms, now there is a beach sandbank near the house Jansen is never empty - a whole family of amazing creatures has settled here, leisurely strolling along the edge of the surf in the breeze. Theo Jansen's latest invention is the Animaris Rhinoceros Transport, a six-legged transport animaris weighing two tons. It's like a walking excavator, capable of carrying several people. And in case of calm weather, the owner is even able to lead it along with him on a string (not without difficulty, of course).
Looking at the photo, I can’t even believe that all this can walk, and after watching the videos I can’t believe that this happens only due to the wind without any electronics, much less fuel. “They have wind as food and they can store energy to use later," says Jansen. "But on the other hand, sometimes they wait for several days for a gust of wind to pass just five minutes. They are like snakes. Snakes also lie in the sun for days, waiting for food. On the beach, my animals have to catch the wind and wait for a long time until there is something in their stomachs there will be enough of it for a walk.” Storms pose a huge danger to mechanisms, and the artist invents more and more new designs so that his creations are not afraid of bad weather. Now the animals can overcome obstacles, and when a thunderstorm approaches, they try to cling to the surface of the sand. Doesn't it sound fantastic, considering that Theo's creatures have no electronics, but only a little mechanics, the laws of kinetics and wind.

Since 1990, kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen has been building huge structures resembling alien insects or the skeletons of prehistoric animals that can move under the influence of wind. Kinetic sculptures or "beach animals"(Strandbeest), as the author himself calls them, created at the intersection of engineering and art, can not only move independently, but also react to the environment, survive and “evolve.” Representatives of a new population of animals, “bred” by Theo Jansen, They are able to recognize water and the type of soil, go around obstacles, and when a storm approaches, “snuggle” to the ground.“I want these animals to live in herds on beaches someday and become completely autonomous,” dreams Theo Jansen.

During the exhibition, the famous Space Pavilion at VDNKhturned into an impromptu beach along which the amazing creatures of Theo Jansen “walked”. Each of "beach animals" constructed from a variety of plastic tubes, bottles, wooden blocks, polyethylene and tape, has an original name and character unique to it. Each of the 12 exhibits brought to Moscow was assembled by artist Theo Jansen himself.

Public lecture by Theo Jansen took place on May 21, 2014 in as part of the opening of an educational program .

“Theo Jansen: Liar Valves, Evolution via the Internet and Portraits of Women” – by the artist.

Interview with Theo Jansen:

Dinosaurs in space /The Art Newspaper Russia
“The world is based on an incredibly simple system” /Theories and Practices
“My animals will live at least 10 million years” /Afisha.Air
VDNH will host the festival of science and curiosity “Polytech” /Vedomosti

Reference:

Theo Jansen was born in 1948 in The Hague. As a child, he was interested in both physics and art. While studying at the Delft University of Technology, the future designer and engineer took part in projects that combined art and new technologies. Before creating kinetic sculptures, Theo Jansen designed mechanical animals and built a model of a UFO. Theo began creating extraordinary “creatures” - “Strandbeest” in 1990. As a result of numerous experiments, he invented a method that allows him to move heavy objects using the power of air. Jansen deliberately did not patent his discovery; on the contrary, he made it available to everyone by posting it on his website so that, if desired, everyone could create their own personal “beast.”

From 1995 to the present day, Theo Jansen has been a regular participant in international exhibitions (in 2012, the Strandbeest exhibition in Buenos Aires was visited by more than 2,000,000 people). In 1996, the artist received the Max Reneman Prize Klimmen, the first of many awards that Theo Jansen would receive for creating Strandbeest.

Jansen's assistants staged demonstrations of the movement of large creatures using a specially mounted pneumatic system. Theo Jansen's large kinetic sculptures could be seen in motion on weekends, and on on weekdays it was possible to independently drive a smaller creatureAnimaris Ordis, even a child could handle the control system.

During the exhibition “Kinetic Life of Sandy Beaches” the famous Space Pavilion at VDNKhturned into an impromptu beach along which the amazing creatures of Theo Jansen “walked”. Each of "beach animals" constructed from a variety of plastic tubes, bottles, wooden blocks, polyethylene and tape, has an original name and character unique to it. Each of the 12 exhibits brought to Moscow was assembled by artist Theo Jansen himself.

Guests were treated not only to kinetic sculptures, but also to special services from the general partner of the exhibition, the company"Megaphone". For example, interactive exhibition guide. Upon entering, each visitor could download a special application for free, which told in detail about Jansen’s “beach animals”. And from May 24 to July 20, the Instagram service took place. The winners received prizes from the Polytechnic Museum and the MegaFon company.

Theo Jansen’s exhibition “The Kinetic Life of Sandy Beaches” opened in the presence of the author at the exhibition, which took place on May 24 and 25, 2014 at Industry Square, VDNKh, as well as in the Space and No. 26 pavilions, where the Polytechnic Museum opened in the spring of 2014.

Public lecture by Theo Jansen took place on May 21, 2014 in as part of the opening of an educational program .

“Theo Jansen: Liar Valves, Evolution via the Internet and Portraits of Women” – by the artist.

Interview with Theo Jansen:

Dinosaurs in space /The Art Newspaper Russia
“The world is based on an incredibly simple system” /Theories and Practices
“My animals will live at least 10 million years” /Afisha.Air
VDNH will host the festival of science and curiosity “Polytech” /Vedomosti