A modern-day creator of "twittering machines," Arthur Ganson uses simple, plain materials to build witty mechanical art. But the wit is not simply about Rube Goldberg-ian chain-reaction gags (though you'll find a few of those). His work examines the quiet drama of physical motion, whether driven by a motor or by the actions of the viewer. Notions of balance, of rising and falling, of action and reaction and consequence, play themselves out in wire and steel and plastic. (source)
watch the videos below
My Little Violin, 2009 by Arthur Ganson
Artist's Statement: It seems they were meant for one another...
"This machine was inspired by watching a randomly shaped object bouncing off the surface of a slow moving, reciprocating and irregularly shaped piston head on the moon. Of course anything is possible in the virtual world of the computer.
The doll house chair seems to be the perfect object to bounce nearly weightlessly over the unsuspecting cat. In this machine, the chair is passive and all motion is due to interference by the cat. The large disk at the back serves to both counterbalance the arm and give more mass to the chair itself. The motion of the chair is complex and will never repeat.
Margot Clark was my wonderful and inspiring art history teacher at the University of New Hampshire. When she passed away she left a houseful of cats."
(This piece is also featured in the music video for Dead Hearts.)
In Machine with Wishbone, a real chicken wishbone pulls the very mechanism responsible for its movement. Another sculpture writes the word "Faster" as it is pushed. Other works explore the nature of oiled surfaces, object manipulation, slow explosions, and the organic implications of slow moving roller chain. (...)
"We read objects in motion on both the objective and subjective levels," says Ganson. "A machine may be about fabric or grease, but it may also be about thick liquid and sensuous movement. A bit deeper, it may be about meditation or the sense of release. And taken yet another step, it may be about pure invention and the joyfulness in the heart of its creator."
(source)
listen to Arthur Ganson talking about "Machines and the Breath of Time
(click the link and then chose the second video in the list)
(click the link and then chose the second video in the list)
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