Theo Jansen
By veronique | May 22, 2012
TAGGED AS Industrial, Kinetic Art, New form of life, Organic, Strandbeest, Theo Jansen
I am sure many of you are familiar with Theo Jansen. I have been obsessed with him since I heard him talk on TED Talks quite a few years ago – which I am completely addicted to. Nevertheless I feel that he deserves to be mentioned, because not only is he an absolute genius but he is also a huge inspiration.
Theo Jansen who is from the Netherlands has dedicated more than 15 years to creating what he calls a new form of life. His “Strandbeest” (beach beasts) seem so organic that from a distance they could be mistaken for huge insects or prehistoric mammoth skeletons, but they are made of materials from the industrial age: flexible plastic tubes, adhesive tape. They move thanks to the force of the wind and wet sand they find in their habitat.
These kinetic sculptures have slowly evolved into a generation of machines that are able to react to their environment: “over time, these skeletons have become increasingly better at surviving the elements such as storms and water, and eventually I want to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives.”
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