Engineering art

Something that frustrates me is the perceived division between people who think like artists and people who think like engineers. Much has been hyped about people being either right-brained or left-brained thinkers. It is as if there are people walking around using only one hemisphere of their brain. I don’t buy it. I may be right handed, but it’s not like I go around letting my left arm dangle uselessly at my side because I have a preference for using my right.

Seeing the work of Theo Jansen is awe inspiring. He takes simple jointed mechanisms and combines them into complex moving “creatures” that almost appear to be alive. Is it art or engineering? Why do we have to choose? For me, the process and methods are engineering, the effect…art.

When I first saw Jansen’s work, it reminded me of Sodaplay. Sodaplay is a site that lets you construct simple, jointed creatures that take on a life of their own when motion is added.

~ by brownlowdesign on November 20, 2007.