Living Sculptures
Theo Jansen
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Beautifully executed, self animated sculptures by Theo Jansen break the barriers between art and the utilitarian pu
rposes of engineering. His work could probably resonate with those inventions that were first conceived for movies, but afterwards opened minds and proposed new ways of solving problems or helped creating new technologies.
Theo Jansen (born March 14, 1948, in The Hague, Netherlands) is a Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor. He builds large works which resemble skeletons of animals
that
are able to walk using the wind on the beaches of the Netherlands. His animated works are a fusion of art andengineering; in a car company television commercial Jansen says: “The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds.” He strives at equipping his creations with their own intelligence to manage avoiding obstacles, by changing their course when one is detected, such as the sea itself.
According to his website (Strandbeest.com):
Since 1990
Theo Jansen has been occupied with the making of a new nature. Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic material of this new nature. He makes skeletons which 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.
Text via wikipedia
