Sisyphus and the Myth of Progress

Archimedes wants to move the world to a better place

Automata

Automata are, essentially, moving sculptures. They are works of art that use simple

mechanisms such as cranks, levers, cams and gears to create motion that tells a story,

illustrates an idea, or brings a scene to life.

 For centuries, artists and craftspeople have used simple mechanical principles to

 create figures that seem to come alive. References exist of a friend of Plato

constructing a wooden pigeon that was animated by water pressure. According to

Jewish legend, King Solomon had a throne on which when he sat an animated eagle

would place a crown on his head. There are 5th century Chinese accounts of flying

automata. Muslim artisans are credited with constructing the first wind powered

automata in the mid 8th century. And so on through the ages to modern times.

Contemporary examples of automata span a broad range. Looking on Youtube you can

find examples ranging from clothespin enabled birds flapping their wings to the wind

motivated Strandbeest of Theo Jansen roaming Dutch beaches. My stuff falls at the

simple end of that continuum, using sticks and scraps and found objects mostly

gathered from the forest around our home to construct pieces that I hope will resonate

with the times and the world, we are living in