kinetic

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Design

Sisyphus Eternally Pushes a Boulder Up a Mechanical Incline in Ross McSweeney’s Nimble Automata

More than one version of the Greek myth of Sisyphus chronicles the king’s slew of misdeeds on Earth, which amount to cheating death not once but twice. This earned him an infamous punishment from Hades, the god of death and ruler of the underworld, who sentenced the legendary figure to roll a boulder up the side of a mountain only for it to roll back down again as soon as it nears the top—for eternity. Glimpsing the mythical inner machinations, artist Ross McSweeney designed an intricately detailed, laser-cut wood automata that animates the classic tale.

McSweeney’s kinetic sculpture features a laboring Sisyphus pushing the stone up an incline as he is eyed by a (perpetually patient!) vulture. Beneath the surface, a cross-section of classical columns reveals a devilish figure who cranks an elaborate set of gears. The device is operated by turning a dial on the lower right side, and McSweeney demonstrates the mechanism in a video in which he also showcases different operating speeds.

The artist designed additional do-it-yourself kinetic constructions of a tiger, a running horse, and the surface of water that undulates with droplet rings. McSweeney shares videos of the automata on YouTube, and you can find detailed patterns to construct your own sculpture—which he takes great care to avoid being a Sisyphean task!—in his Etsy shop. (via Laughing Squid)

 

Art

Lively Kinetic Sculptures by Yunchul Kim Pulse with Iridescent Color-Changing Cells

Seoul-based artist Yunchul Kim echoes the heaving, lively motion of breath in his glimmering kinetic sculptures. Part of the ongoing Chroma series, the mixed-media works are reactive: small motors bend the transparent polymer material and cause an iridescent, color-changing ripple that pulses across the piece. Often suspended in a gallery space, the sculptures are knotted or shaped like a vortex, as in “Chroma V,” which references “subjects and symbols of culture and disciplines, such as ancient murals, nature, literature, art, philosophy, and science,” Kim says.

Alongside aesthetic concerns, engineering and the mechanics of each structure play a crucial role in the construction process. The resulting works are immersive and multi-sensory as the motors emit various sounds that correspond with the visual changes. “Chroma V,” for example, is comprised of 382 individual cells each containing its own device that subsequently produces hundreds of different reactions across the eight-meter work. The artist shares:

In the studio, I spent a lot of time trying to realize this, not to fit the artwork to the machine but to make a machine that fits the idea of the artwork, with numerous attempts and experiments. After the individual mechanical devices are completed, a work process in which software and mechanical devices connect is necessary to create an artistic event to enable communication between them.

This generative nature informs Kim’s practice, and he often transfers aspects of earlier projects into his next work. “When one piece is finished, this process does not stop but becomes a potential idea for the next new piece,” he says.

Kim has several exhibitions upcoming, including this March at Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, in June at CERN Science Gateway in Geneva and Science Gallery in Melbourne, and this fall at Madre Museum in Naples. Until then, explore more of Kim’s work on YouTube, Instagram, and his site.

 

Art Craft

Papier-Mâché Creatures Inhabit a Whimsical World in Penny Thomson’s Kinetic Sculptures

A host of wild creatures inhabit the whimsical world of artist Penny Thomson (previously), who creates intricate, kinetic sculptures that fit in the palm of your hand. Joined in her Derbyshire studio by her daughter Briony, she works primarily with papier-mâché, which she began experimenting with when her children were still young. “Using pulp, laminated and household waste paper, and cardboard, I made a seven-foot giraffe and conducted a workshop in my son’s school, which involved all the pupils in making a 14-foot Diplodocus,” she says.

Since then, Thomson’s creations have scaled down quite a bit, but her interest in working with paper and recycled materials continues. After creating a diorama for illusionist Sam Drake’s House of Magic, she became fascinated with automata and combined skills she acquired over her career to develop the mechanical miniatures. Briony adds, “That is why we say that a batch of two or three kinetic sculptures usually take between one week and 40 years to make!” Each expressive, miniature figure incorporates a mechanism with a small handle that sets it in motion, giving life to hungry chicks, impatient zebras, and joyous penguins.

Thomson regularly releases small batches of sculptures in her Etsy shop. They sell quickly, so you can keep up-to-date about new work on Instagram, and see more on her website.

 

Art

Through a Monumental Sculpture of Moving Chains, Artist Charles Gaines Confronts the Enduring Legacy of American Slavery

Eight years after artist Charles Gaines began work on “Moving Chains,” the monumental public work now stands at Outlook Hill on Governors Island. Evocative of a ship hull, the enormous kinetic sculpture features nine rows of steel chains weighing 1,600 pounds each that roll atop a structure made of Sapele, a wood native to Africa, with eight moving at the pace of the harbor’s currents and the other at that of a boat.

The 110-foot is Gaines’ first public art commission and a sharp critique of systemic issues inherent within the American economy. Located next to the harbor that was an essential waterway in the transatlantic slave trade, “Moving Chains” exposes the nation’s capitalistic impulses and inextricable foundation in the heinous practice. “I wanted the piece to address that… in order to produce this kind of economy, they had to legitimate slavery,” Gaines says in an interview. “It becomes a real emblem of what I call the fatal flaw that exists at the foundation of American democracy.”

Specifically, the artist focuses on the Supreme Court’s landmark Dred Scott ruling that prohibits anyone of African descent from becoming a U.S. citizen. Although reversed with the 14th amendment, that decision has spawned myriad effects that continue to plague American society today. “It shows the history of slavery and Manifest Destiny and colonialism and imperialism as an interlinking narrative,” Gaines told Artnet. “In education, they’ve been separated, but the U.S. economy was built on slavery. Manifest Destiny legalized the taking of land from other people.”

Commissioned by Creative Time, Times Square Arts, and Governors Island Arts, “Moving Chains” is one part of Gaines’ ongoing The American Manifest project and is on view through June 2023 in New York before it travels to Cincinnati. You can find more of the artist’s work on Hauser & Wirth, Instagram, and a new film from Art21.

 

Design

A Fluttering Exterior Responds to the Elements in a Kinetic, Open-Air Cabin by NEON

In the park surrounding Louvre-Lens, which opened in 2012 on a 49-acre former mining site about 125 miles north of Paris, a cabin-shaped installation has fluttered onto the grounds. The kinetic structure designed by Margate, U.K.-based studio NEON, who describe it as an “animal-like” work that responds to natural forces in its environment, has feather-like polycarbonate shingles that respond to wind or precipitation to generate movement. “Shiver House V2″—version one was modeled after a traditional mökki in Finland—is an exploration into the way that architecture can help to build a closer connection between its inhabitants and its surroundings.

“Something that we can do with our work is make people be more present in the moment,” says NEON artist Viliina Koivisto, who along with director Mark Nixon, founded NEON on the premise that architecture, art, and design are not ivory towers and instead intersect with one another in unique ways. “Our projects are often eye-catching, bold, and emotive—and quite fantastical,” Nixon explains.

You can view more of the studio’s work on its website and on Instagram.

 

Art Design

A Mesmerizing Kinetic Sculpture Twists and Writhes in Perpetual Spiraling Motion

Set atop an aluminum turntable, a spiraling sculpture by British artist Tom Lawton translates a simple mathematic concept into a hypnotic dance. “Wonder” is a sleek copper work of rounded twists based on the shape of a torus or a circular form with a hole in the middle, a donut being a prime example. Lawton’s design coils around an imagined central axis, creating a continual organic movement propelled by an electric motor.

From his workshop in rural Wiltshire in the Cotswolds, the artist just launched a Kickstarter for the meditative works. You can also see a larger version of “Wonder” inside the historic Malmesbury Abbey, and find more of Lawton’s projects on his site.