I have been playing around with a concept kinetic sculpture using four of my White Water modules to create a double cascade falling water environment. The starting point was an approximately 10 foot tall by 6 foot wide dark green wall. Here is where to concept stands right now.
Del (YouTube Handle = Woodificood) is a 71 year old craftsman who enjoys woodworking. Below is an "intricate hand-cranked machine made entirely of wood and glue (no metal or other materials)" that he refers to as his crowing acheivement. What an interesting exploration into kinetic motion.
To check out more of Del's work head over to his YouTube page.
Found via ArtMad1 on YouTube
Studio Lilica "create[s] custom architectural lighting and luminous fabric sculptures... [to] synthesize light, line and motion to transform conventional spaces into extraordinary environments." Beautiful!
Each WTW kinetic sculpture goes through an idea development and trial and error process to get to the final product. This is how new mechanisms are created, run-time is lengthened, and many other pieces are refined.
Four students at the Utrecht School of Art and Technology created the following cardboard mechanism. It took a lot of trial and error to get there. Go here to view the various prototype stages to get to the final.
Cardboard Mechanics Installation from Sasj on Vimeo via Dug North.
Today David is introducing White Water, Avalanche, and Falling Water II, three sculptures based on a common module. This series allows you to combine modules to create larger, more complex sculptures customized for your own space. Extensive information on all three pieces plus other ideas are presented on the website today.
White Water
White Water is a single component sculpture which is a landmark design because of it's extended run time. David finally managed to cross the 24 hour time mark with this piece by simplifying the mechanism and modifying some construction techniques! (No perpetual motion yet!)
Falling Water II
But what if you have a larger space? Simple! Add a second White Water to it, rearrange them, and a larger, more complex sculpture emerges. Above is Falling Water II, similar to the original with its constantly shifting yet relaxing patterns and quiet clicking sounds but it is shippable. It is composed of two White Water modules arranged in a vertical orientation and would fill an 11-14' tall wall.
Avalanche
But explore further, rearrange those two modules into a different orientation and a third sculpture emerges. In Avalanche, shown above, two modules are positioned in a diamond motif to create a sculpture version that works well on a horizontal wall.
Possibilities are endless! What if three were put together? A visit to our
website will share with you animations of other compositions. What shape wall do you have?
A sculpture doesn't have to physically move to communicate the essence of motion. I just found the website of artist Elias Wakan and lost of chunk of time as I explored with wonder his beautiful creations. He masterfully combines geometry and sculpture often creating visual motion.
This is the fifth in a series of blogs about my history in the craft industry. If you missed the other posts start here.
Given the era of the early Wood That Works years, it was not a marketing priority to check the availability of our domain name but it was important to get business cards and brochures printed. The angst and cost associated with these tasks have thankfully been mitigated with new technologies but for the sake of recording a little of history we are sharing our experiences. I don’t feel old enough to be using the phrase, “Remember when,” but certain phases of business development today bear little resemblance to our options back then. It illustrates how rapidly the desktop publishing revolution (a term not coined until 1985) completely changed this process.
In the ‘70’s creating print material required error free copy (without the use of a spell checker), rub & press letters, offset printing, and large print runs. We literally cut and pasted using scissors and glue to create an original document. In order to keep printing affordable, we had to create a brochure that could be used for a long time. This, along with the impossible goal of showing motion in a still format, were our two main challenges.
The very first publishing endeavor reflected our inexperience. It was hand sketched and basic. We did have the text typeset (choice of four fonts) but as with other brochures, no matter how many times one proofed it, as soon as we got it home from the printers we'd find a typo. Oh, for the joy of a delete key!
We soon ventured into photography and made many attempts at showing motion in a still photo. Not only did we predate computers but consumer video equipment as well. Still photography was the available choice. All efforts produced photos that, although showing motion, always appeared as frenetic speed. Photography didn’t capture the rhythmic and peaceful motion of David’s work. We opted for still photographs instead although kept experimenting.
Our brochures and pamphlets went through ever-changing versions in search of the ideal presentation. David’s work has always been produced in limited editions and a minimum run of brochures lasted long after the sculptures did. Hence, 35 years later I still have stacks of original copies. I designed 3-fold brochures, 5-fold brochures, and multi-page insert brochures (a design disaster). For many years I spent evenings spray gluing colored photographs onto pages because that was the only affordable way to add color.
And then in 1984, along came a Macintosh, WYSIWYG software, soon to be followed by an Apple Laser printer. A revolution for small business was started and we rode the wave of early adoption.
A closing note: A willingness to learn new things coupled with teamwork was essential in establishing Wood That Works. David designed sculptures, I designed brochures. We learned wood working, photography, videography, computing and desktop publishing. We are still learning today. It keeps us young!
Don Ian Dickson is a kinetic sculptor based out of Ontario, Canada. His designs evolve from his love of the natural creative forces - Earth, Air, Water, Fire. He has sculptures located all over the world. The one below is located in Osyoos, British Columbia and incorporates structure and sound.
"Narrow Passages, Ageless Sound" by Don Dickson
"This kinetic sculpture at the town hall of Osyoos BC incorporates kinetics and sound to interpret the geography and history of the region. The overall sculpture relates to the mountains, the reeds are the kinetic elements. These relate to the water flowing through this pocket desert. When moved by the wing they act as harmonic chimes. The seasons are shown with the discs at the base for the 13 month lunar cycle of the year." Description from Waymaking.com
You can find more information about Don Dickson and his sculpture at the following links:
www.metalgenesis.com
www.aiesm.com
Have you seen any of his works up close? We'd love to hear what you thought.
This is the fourth in a series of blogs about my history in the craft industry. If you missed the other posts start here.
The debate about art versus craft has been raging for years and it is definitely bigger than my kinetic sculptures. I have no intention of debating it from a philisophical direction here although I encourage opinions in the comments area. It did figure hugely in an early and vital business decision and one that any beginning artist needs to address. Should I market through the craft world or the art world?
I choose the craft world. Granted, it is easier to choose when creating sculpture because the line is decidedly blurry, not so fuzzy for painting. But I had strong reasons for the choice and, because we expect many fellow dreamers might bereading this to garner clues, Marji thought it important to share our reasons.
Like so many things in life, it came down to money. In the mid 70's the craft movement was emerging. Organizations like the American Craft Council, and Buyers Market were busily creating venues (just a fancy word for trade shows) that made professional and national exposure a possibility. These events brought us together with craft gallery owners from around the nation. The art side had no similar possibilities . In the art world, you lugged your portfolio from gallery to gallery searching for interest. While I would have loved to travel and show my work in Hawaii, Texas, and California, reality kept me firmly in New England. Take a moment and picture me on such an adventure with kinetic sculptures.
As impossible an endeavor as that might have been, the answer to this question for us came more from the financial organization of each industry. In the art world the norm is for an artist to provide work to the gallery on aconsignment basis. The artist gets paid a negotiated amount after a sale. In the craft industry many more galleries buy creative work outright. This meant I got paid up front or, if credit was granted, in 30 days. It was a clear illustration of the old bird-in-hand saying.
We did a little trial and error to define the best method for Wood That Works. We did test the policy of consignment at a high end gallery. Two things caused us to stop consignment arrangements. The first was that unless the gallery was local, keeping an eye on what had sold, what was being actively shown, and what was collecting dust in the storage area was impossible. It was wonderful having my work displayed and attracting attention for both me and the gallery. The galleries that had already paid for the sculptures sold far more than the ones who had them on consignment.
So, whether it is art or craft doesn't matter when it is your living. The craft world has been a wonderful place for me to show and sell my work.
To continue to part 5: Click Here