Kinetic Gifts & Inspiration
For the last few months, I’ve been toying with a few kinetic and steampunk sculpture ideas (i.e.: ring-based message board & ceiling ball grid) but - for a variety of reasons - have yet to prototype anything completely new, much less add anything to my product line.
Though I missed the holiday gift buying season, I wanted to share a few links to other craftspeople and artists that do have kinetic sculpture products for sale, as well as to a few studios that focus exclusively on kinetic art and design; these have either served as some inspiration for my explorations or at least are very unique and creative.
Looking to Buy?
Everything in this section can be purchased for anywhere from $50 for a set of plans, to $10,000+ for a one-off wall sculpture from a master at the craft!
Wood Creations
Of course, I’m most impressed by mechanical wood creations, and in this realm two craftsmen and artists come to the fore.
David C Roy’s Thunderbird sculpture was designed in 2016 and runs for about 35 hours. The one-of-a-kind sculpture can be purchased for $9500.
I first came across David C Roy’s pieces in a gift shop in Florida nearly two decades ago; though he is still building, it is now at a “retirement” pace and so his pieces are a bit harder to come by! He has a well-written site with his entire portfolio spanning nearly 50 years of creations, that outlines the evolution of his mechanisms, what worked well over the years and what fell by the wayside. If you have the space (and budget), and can somehow manage to jump the queue for one of his pieces, you will not be disappointed!
However, if you’re happy building your own mechanical creation, but just need some detailed plans to work from, Derek Hugger has a lot of original designs that are worth checking out. The designs can be cut from baltic birch plywood, with a few off-the-shelf parts like pins, pulleys, and bearings. He has designed free-standing pieces like the hummingbird motion below, as well as wall-hung pieces, and even a set of kinetic coasters that I’m sure would be loads of fun to play with, even more so after a few drinks.
Honorable Mentions & Other Media
This super unique way to display the time - a vacuum pump with individually-controlled vacuum chambers for the segments of the digits to pull a flexible rubber face - can be purchased from the Swiss manufacturer Etch Clock, for 1750 CHF (or around $2000).
I’ve referenced the Sisyphus in an earlier post, but if the size or cost of that is a little out of reach - or for someone who prefers to be a little more hands-on with their sand art, this clever 18” diameter allows you to create nifty patterns with seven uniquely-formed concrete balls.
I’ve featured a vase and lamp by Flyte a few years ago; this clock from the same company takes magnetic levitation to a new level, using a single steel ball to represent the time (or configurable as a countdown timer).
This frame - by Jeff Lieberman, who I also feature below - makes real objects appear to move in slow motion. By taking advantage of the limits of human visual perception, this optical illusion leverages a carefully hidden strobe light and a very quiet motor to vibrate the item you’ve clipped into the frame, such as a flower or a feather.
I’ve been inspired by the precision and detail in this Staines & Son orrery for several years and almost purchased one just prior to the pandemic. The 9 planet one is around $20k (and has a leadtime of over a year), but they have much more approachable - in both size and cost - versions featuring just the inner solar system, or just Earth & the sun.
Looking for Inspiration?
Unlike the products above, the artists and studios linked here do not have “off the shelf” products or even limited edition copies you can purchase; instead, these folks build large kinetic sculptures for institutions, museums, corporations, and public spaces. If you have a big idea you want to bring to fruition, a big space in which to build it, and a big budget to work with, these are the folks to work with!
Designed by White Void, a design and art studio based in Berlin, this 2013 installation has a static installation that is brought to life via a precisely-controlled lighting system. They also built the largest flip dot system in Wolfsburg, Germany, comprising nearly 180,000 mechanical pixels.
Hypersonic - a Brooklyn-based creative firm that “designs and creates groundbreaking new media sculptures and physical installations”, has the electrical, mechanical, embedded system, and other miscellaneous know-how to bring sculptures like this Water Ripples (in New York’s Grand Central Station) to life.
Jeff Lieberman has an impressive portfolio, including this “Skywave” kinetic sculpture on Royal Caribbean’s gigantic ship, Ovation of the Seas, and as the brains behind OK Go’s End Love music video.
Anthony Howe’s one-off pieces are fully wind-driven, and precisely balanced sculptures. You may have seen much smaller versions - perhaps with a little more color - as garden art in your neighborhood, you definitely need a lot of space to truly appreciate his work!
Art + Com, another Berlin-based studio, was founded in the 1988 by Joachim Sauter. They have a few dozen impressive kinetic art installations to their name, including this “Petal Cloud” sculpture, one of six related pieces installed in Changi Airport in Singapore. Interestingly, none of their portfolio videos are on YouTube - perhaps because of lingering animosity over the alleged theft of the technology that ultimately became Google Earth, which is featured in the Netflix series The Billion Dollar Code.
U-Ram Choe’s complex kinetic sculptures combine delicate, organic and otherworldly beauty with machines, motors, and steel; his pieces are indeed for sale, albeit not at a price mere mortals can afford! For a little more of a biography, check out this video.
Your Favorites
Do you have a favorite piece, artist, or studio you’d like to share? If so, comment below - I’d love to hear from you and we can all always use more inspiration!