Bach - performed by a wooden ball

I think that is the best rolling ball sculpture that I have yet seen.  Take note of the method used to create the proper timing for the musical piece.  Very well done and worth watching!


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MODEL A’LA EXPERIMENT

Here's a video of an interesting architectural model created by Rasmus Svingel, produced while he was a student at the Aarhaus School of Architecture in Denmark.


Experiment process model from Rasmus Svingel on Vimeo.

Rasmus describes it as "an investigation of space and program diversity through movement".  The concept for the model was originally created in a digital computer program and then "processed into an analog model".  Rasmus explains that the model is his attempt to study how a structure might adapt to changing needs necessitated by climate, space, etc.

My first impression was an appreciation for the design and beauty of the model, as it resembles some mobile ideas that I have been working on.  When I opened the video to see more, I was delighted to find that it is in fact a beautiful kinetic sculpture - using a series of carbon fibre wires and rubber bands to produce movement.

Be sure to check out more of Rasmus' designs in his online portfolio.  He has some wonderful ideas, and if his career in architecture doesn't work out, I would suggest that he would have a bright future as an artist...a career transition that happens more often than you would expect.

Rasmus Svingel online portfolio

Dan Grayber

Dan Grayber's sculptures look like something you would find in a mechanical engineering lab at some university, or perhaps in an R&D department at Caterpillar, Inc. The abundance of springs, cables, chains, pulleys, thread forms and structural beams painted in yellow makes them highly interesting to look at.  All of them use the physics of compression, tension, leverage and friction to provide mechanisms for the self-sufficient support of each sculpture within its environment. You'll find them wedged inside glass domes, clinging to corners, and stuck into vertical walls. 

I really love how these sculptures first captivate you with their mix of complex beauty and industrial workmanship, and then puzzle you as you try to figure out how all of the pieces function together to make it work.  The punch line comes when you begin to wonder what would happen if a cable or a spring failed, or a rubber pad slipped, and all of the potential energy in the piece was suddenly liberated.  I had to chuckle over one comment that Dan made about one of his sculptures having some "issues with gravity"

Good stuff.  Be sure to check out Dan's website for more....

Bongue Amplifier by Studio Toer

I don't quite understand how this "Kinetic Amplifier" works, but I love the way it looks and moves!

See more, including a video here, at MoCo Loco

Robert B. Howard

"Multiple Compass" - Robert B. Howard                        Photo by Ian Reeves

I really like this mobile by Robert Boardman Howard (1896 - 1983).  This article describes the propeller-like sculpture as being black, with dark blue blotches painted on it, suggesting the markings on military aircraft.

Here is another one of his sculptures at the San Francisco MOMA:

This sculpture is entitled "Ram".  The photo does not convey the mammoth size of this sculpture, which is listed in the SFMOMA website as being 117 inches (nearly 10 feet) tall!  It appears that the three-legged geometric shape is free to rotate on the bulbous black base.

Here is another sculpture in wood, also at the SFMOMA, which I like the best of the three.  It is called "Semaphore".

photo by Marsi - via Flickr

Here is a picture that I found of a party in his studio.  You can see some interesting mobiles and stabiles.  Hey, that guy on drums looks like Bobby Kennedy!

I've tried to find more information about this artist via the Internet without much success.  Wikipedia mentions his name as being one of the Coit Tower muralists from the California School of Fine Arts.  Since there is also a painting in the holdings at the SFMOMA I suspect this is the same artist.  I also found this memorial on the Internet but it appears to be about another artist with the same name - his birth/death dates do not match the dates listed in SFMOMA and there is no mention of Coit Tower or any involvement with San Francisco.

Do you know anything about Robert B. Howard?   Leave a comment if you do!

Metropolis II, by Chris Burdon

This kinetic sculpture by Chris Burdon is amazing. 
 I love the concept, and it is obvious that no expense has been spared in producing it.

Watch the video here

"Sprinzelfish" hanging mobile

"Sprinzelfish" - hanging mobile by Unigami