Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Kinetic sculpture'

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2001.
"September 2001."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-132).
As we enter the 21st century our culture has been significantly changed by the arrival of the internet and the proliferation personal computing and digital communications. As the decades progress, we will find ourselves interacting with machines more and more frequently, but what will be the qualities of these interactions? Through integrating information processing technologies into kinetic sculpture we are able to explore new methods of interaction. The concepts and experiments presented in this thesis as behavioral kinetic sculpture are the intellectual progeny of cybernetic art as evolved over the last thirty years through the development of interactive software, behavioral robotics, artificial life, and modern sculpture. This thesis defines the concept of behavioral kinetic sculpture as a unique category of expression through providing context, terminology, and a conceptual structure for its discussion and evaluation. This is supported through discussing the author's experiments in interaction and the behavioral kinetic sculpture, Trundle.
Casey Reas.
S.M.

Christchurch born artist Len Lye (1901- 1980) built the kinetic sculpture, Blade (1965), as a prototype for what he perceived to be a much larger work. This thesis presents a study, which predicts the vibratory response of Blade and develops a design for the sculpture to be built at the largest practical economic size. Len Lye's aesthetic requirements stipulate that the vibratory blade form of the scaled sculpture must be geometrically similar to the original work and that static similarity should exist between the original and the scaled blades. Dimensionless formulae are derived and used to study the influence of design parameters and increasing size on structural properties such as natural frequencies, blade forces and moments, and system power requirements. For a solid metal blade of rectangular cross section it is found that the size, which Blade may be scaled, is limited by the magnitude of the bending stresses in the blade material. Len Lye's specification imposes a set of requirements and constraints on the design, which in addition to economic constraints leads to a variational study which maximises the number of performances per dollar expended on blade materials with increasing size. As a result of this study a titanium alloy 6AI/4V is selected for the scaled blade with a nominal blade length is 3.355m. To test the validity of the design, frequencies and mode shapes were calculated and a numerical simulation performed. The exact solution for the natural bending frequencies and mode shapes for the blade and the wand are obtained using simple beam theory. The Rayleigh Ritz method is used to calculate the plate frequencies and mode shapes for the blade. The calculated frequencies and mode shapes include the effects of the longitudinal gravitational loading. In this study they are the second and third blade bending frequencies and the third plate mode Len Lye described as the desirable vibrating single and double harmonic blade forms and the shimmering frequency respectively. For the simulation a mathematical model is developed to describe the dynamics of the interaction of the blade and the wand. The model predicted a swinging phenomenon, which Lye observed in the performance of Blade at the prototype size and regarded as undesirable. A system configuration for the scaled Blade involving a lighter more flexible wand and modified ground motion characteristics predicted a significant reduction of this swinging phenomenon and is incorporated in the design. Features in the design of the mechanism for the original sculpture were found to be unsatisfactory so a new improved mechanism concept was developed. The complete design was produced and the system was manufactured and built. The performance of the scaled Blade is found to be consistent with the prediction from the mathematical model.

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references.
Inspired by the desire to unite aspects of art and engineering into a comprehensive whole, I have designed and manufactured a kinetic sculpture that demonstrates gyroscopic precession. The aim of this project is to explore the interplay between two seemingly separate fields, art and engineering, and the effect of their union on perception and learning.
by Laura E. Nichols.
S.B.

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-50).
A one-week course in kinetic sculpture was designed to introduce middle school students to the marriage of art and engineering. Because art can appeal to different sensibilities than engineering alone, it can serve as a means to broaden perspectives of students with different motivations. In light of increasing emphasis on the development of programs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in U.S. education, this project fills a need for more opportunities in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Even though the availability and popularity of STEAM programs for children is growing, these opportunities for young children are still limited. Therefore, there is a market for a course that incorporates art and the engineering design process like this one. Daily activities in an introductory week-long kinetic sculpture course are defined. Each day's lessons are provided along with resources for further study. The structure of the course is based on sound pedagogical practice. The strength of the course is its ability to incorporate science and art in a fun way that will be appealing to students. Future work would consist of the expansion of the lessons with more detail for teachers and the addition of more alternate activities.
by Martin R. Suresh.
S.B.

The challenge of creating a dialogue between a viewer and an artwork is the next logical step in the evolution of my artwork. The problem is to find a way of creating art that does not only remain visual. By the same token, also to create something that does not remain purely conceptual and out of touch. In order to make the experience of encountering artwork more meaningful, a merging of physical and mental interaction in the viewer is strived for.This project serves as a tool for reflection on myself and understanding a way of working. It also provides an opportunity to clarify many of the beliefs and positions that I hold to be true in what I do in theory and practice. This project attempts to provide viewers new experiences with art through interaction.
Department of Art

The Building Breathes Together presents a realm of speculative, industrial habitation and alchemical production. In my instillation, I look to raise questions surrounding romantic notions of production and utility. The work introduces a surreal and haunted space of decomposition and regeneration.

This thesis is an exciting and enthralling story about the history of the world as seen through the eyes of Claire Watkins. The story takes place in the dusty corners of her art studio in the old confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. Ms. Watkins leads her audience through such unsuspecting places as her brain, the life of an African Dung Beetle, the center of an atom and the dark reaches of outer space. The story is inspirational and thought provoking. It will force you to see the world as an interconnected web that weaves your life together with the cosmos. A must read for the summer!"Truly exceptional…a wonderful Thesis…highly recommended!" - Ruby Westcoat"I never thought of the world quite like that…now I see everything in a new and electrifying way." - Timothy Devoe"Once again she proves to be my favorite contemporary artist and author" - Virgil Hale Rhames

A presente investigação tem como objecto de estudo a escultura sonora, centrando- se essencialmente na correlação de duas áreas, a escultura e o som. Procura analisar e definir a escultura sonora através de uma pesquisa interdisciplinar entre a ciência, a tecnologia e as artes visuais. Este estudo tem por objectivo analisar a origem do entrosamento entre a escultura e o som, caracterizando o que se pode definir como escultura sonora dentro do universo ambíguo das artes sonoras e o que a distingue de um instrumento musical. Neste âmbito, procura desvelar quais foram os agentes que geraram mudança de paradigma na escultura e de que modo o som foi integrado intencionalmente na produção do objecto artístico. Para a caracterização utilizou-se uma metodologia baseada na observação dos objectos, nas suas semelhanças e dissemelhanças, com base na leitura bibliográfica de áreas específicas e afins, no estudo de casos e na investigação prática. Conhecer as suas propriedades físicas, que materiais emprega na sua construção, que formas tem e como o seu sinal acústico é despoletado e se propaga num determinado meio, permitiu dar uma ordem a um vasto campo da escultura que andava à deriva e é tendencialmente ‘desviado’ para o domínio musical. A essência do movimento é efémera, tal como o som, consoante a maior ou menor velocidade a deslocação de um objecto tem o potencial de vibrar com uma intensidade capaz de gerar ondas sonoras audíveis. Nesta perspectiva, o estudo da escultura cinética do início do século XX, a par da evocação do ruído como arte, são elementos fundamentais na formação da escultura sonora e permitem delinear a barreira temporal da nossa investigação. Depois da longa travessia pelo mundo dos objectos sonoros, desde os engenhos mais primitivos até às peças elaboradas com as tecnologias mais contemporâneas, o caminho revela que o som sempre foi uma presença constante. A sua integração como elemento plástico permitiu aos artistas a consciência de uma dimensão temporal que transforma a escultura, porque lhe imprime uma identidade invisível e acrescenta à experiência uma memória auditiva; Abstract: The relationship of sculpture with sound The purpose of this research is the study of the sound sculpture, focusing primarily on the correlation of two areas, sculpture and sound. Seeks to analyze and define the sound sculpture through an interdisciplinary research between science, technology and the visual arts. This study aims to analyze the origin of the interplay between sculpture and sound, featuring what can be defined as sound sculpture inside the ambiguous universe of sound arts and what distinguishes it from a musical instrument. In this context, seeks to reveal what were the agents that generated a paradigm shift in sculpture and the sound was so intentionally integrated into the production of the artistic object. Used to characterize a methodology based on the observation of objects in their similarities and dissimilarities, based on the literature of specific reading and related areas, the case study research and practice. Meet their physical properties, which employs materials in its construction, which shapes and has as its acoustic signal is triggered and propagates in a given medium, allowed to give an order to a vast field of sculpture who was adrift and tends to be 'diverted 'to the musical domain. The essence of the movement is ephemeral, as the sound, depending on the higher or lower speed displacement of an object has the potential to vibrate with a strength capable of generating audible sound waves. In this perspective, the study of kinetic sculpture from the early twentieth century, alongside the evocation of noise as art, are key elements in the formation of sound sculpture and to delineate the temporal barrier of our investigation. After the long journey through the world of sound objects, from the most primitive devices to the more elaborated pieces with contemporary technologies, the path reveals that the sound has always been a constant presence. Its integration as a plastic element allowed the artists to realize a temporal dimension that transforms the sculpture, because it prints an invisible identity and adds to the experience an auditory memory.

Dans une Espagne étouffée par la dictature de Francisco Franco qui tente de réintégrer la scène artistique internationale en promouvant à l’étranger certains artistes abstraits informels, la position de collectif d’artistes abstraits géométriques Equipo 57 est singulière. Désireux de découvrir un monde libre et assoiffés de savoir, les jeunes artistes Juan Serrano, José Duarte, Agustín Ibarrola et Ángel Duart se rencontrent à Paris en 1957. Partageant les mêmes affinités pour l’art construit, les avant-gardes russes et la même volonté de rénovation de la vie culturelle espagnole, ils décident de former une équipe de travail et de discussion. De retour à Cordoue, rejoints par Juan Cuenca, les cinq membres du collectif élaborent la théorie de l’Interactivité de l’espace plastique qui sous-tend leurs créations, où l’individualité de chacun est gommée au profit de l’oeuvre collective. À la recherche d’un art qui puisse se réintégrer dans la vie quotidienne tout en questionnant la responsabilité de l’artiste, Equipo 57 emploie un langage rationnel et objectif qui s’exprime aussi bien dans le champ de la peinture, de la sculpture que du design. Il tente ainsi de conjuguer recherches formelles et engagement social. Cette première étude monographique en français propose d’analyser le parcours d’Equipo 57, depuis sa formation à Paris en 1957 jusqu’à dissolution officielle en 1966, en le confrontant au contexte socioculturel de l’Espagne franquiste et de l’Europe occidentale au tournant des années cinquante et soixante
In the 1950s, as Francisco Franco’s dictatorship tries to reintegrate its stifled country’s art scene onto the world stage by promoting certain Spanish abstract expressionists abroad, the position of Equipo 57, a collective of geometrical abstractionists, is unique. Eager to discover the free world, and thirsty for knowledge, the young artists Juan Serrano, José Duarte, Agustín Ibarrola and Ángel Duart meet in Paris in 1957. Sharing the same affinity for constructivist art and the Russian avant-garde, and united in their desire to renew Spanish cultural life, they decide to form a team of work and discussion. Upon their return to Cordoba, where they are joined by Juan Cuenca, the five members of the team elaborate a theory of the Interactivity of plastic space which guides their creation. The individuality of each member is thus erased for the good of the collective work. Aiming for an art that is able to enter into everyday life while questioning the responsibility of the artist, Equipo 57 uses a rational and objective language which takes form in painting, sculpture and design. They try to combine formal experiments as well as socio-political engagement. This premier monographic study in French aims to analyze the career of Equipo 57, from its inception in Paris in 1957 to its official dissolution in 1966. The group’s existence will be confronted with its sociocultural context in Franco’s Spain and Western Europe at the turn of the decade of the 1950s and 1960s

Len Lye was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1901. Lye was an avid enthusiast of kinetic sculpture and experimental film. In 1965 Lye built a prototype for a kinetic sculpture called Blade that he intended would be a much larger work. In 1996, Dr. Shayne Gooch of the University of Canterbury embarked on a research contract that saw the fruition of Lye’s Blade at a scale previously unachieved. This work was given the name Big Blade. This thesis provides a study into the maximum realisable scale of Blade using technology and materials available today. A new pivoting clamp design is tested and assessed using a small scale Blade sculpture built at the University of Canterbury and used as a test rig. Advancements in technology, material availability and manufacturing techniques lead to a comprehensive fatigue study of the new clamp design. Stresses are measured at the critical stress location in the blade material and a new maximum economic scale of Blade is suggested. The new sculpture requires a blade material that measures 10024mm x 1080mm x 22mm. The visible blade length is 8424mm. The new sculpture is called Giant Blade. A critical aesthetic component for Len Lye’s performance of Blade is the mode shapes formed by the blade material. Specifically, the second and third bending modes (Lye’s single and double harmonic) and the first torsional bending mode (Lye’s shimmering frequency). These frequencies are calculated using the new pivoting clamp design to ensure that these sections of the performance are maintained in Giant Blade. An important requirement of the new sculpture drive mechanism is the capability to reduce the amplitude of shuttle oscillation dynamically during Blade performances. This capability allows bending stresses in the blade material to be reduced in the third bending mode of vibration without halting the performance to adjust the shuttle oscillation amplitude. Four dynamically adjustable variable stroke mechanisms are presented and compared using the methods of Pahl and Beitz. A suitable mechanism for Giant Blade is selected and a proposed arrangement for the new sculpture is provided. An embodiment design is presented for Giant Blade. This embodiment design consists of a new pivoting clamp design and the proposed variable stroke mechanism. Further work includes the design of a mechanism to support the ball and wand assembly.

Cute As A Button explores powerlessness, vulnerability, illness and addiction all wrapped up in tender buttons and a cute, cuddly creature. Using animation, sculpture, sound and an intimate space, I surround the viewer in a saccharine nightmare, one that references the dark underbelly of the cute and the sweet. The visual and aural elements are representative of the psychological and emotional states of powerlessness, which are overcome by the act of making and exploring a medium over which I can have complete control.

Includes bibliographical references.
Inflatable sculpture is often seen as absurd, comic or light-hearted, but it can also convey a darker, more serious tone. The inflatable sculptures created in part fulfillment for this degree explore refabrication through the use of discarded plastic. This body of work highlights the relationship between industrialisation, plastic goods and nature. The insubstantial, flimsy qualities of the inflatable are an extended metaphor for the fragility of ecologies and the impact of plastic pollution on the environment.

L'objet de cette thèse est l'étude de la part métaphysique dans l’oeuvre sculptée de Jean Tinguely (Fribourg 1925 - Berne1991). La problématique majeure est celle de l'aspect contradictoire d'une oeuvre à la fois anti-académique issue de l'influence dadaïste mais dont la dimension métaphysique la rapproche d'une tradition spéculative de l'art. L'étude de lasculpture de Jean Tinguely se fait sous deux axes principaux : l'art comme jeu plaisant et l'art comme pourvoyeur devérité
The topic of this PhD thesis is the study of the metaphysical aspect of the sculptural work of Jean Tinguely (Fribourg 1925 –Bern 1991). The main argument is the contradictory conception of a work which is anti-academic in the dadaist attitude,but which metaphysical dimension makes it close to the speculative tradition in art. The study of the sculptural work of JeanTinguely follows two main perspectives: art as pleasant game and art as purveyor of truth

Latitudinaria* explores and critiques the ambivalence between current technological progress and the consequently depersonalised social structures and systems. I am using the development from mechanical Automata to mass production juxtaposed to Charlie Chaplin??s film and Jean Tinguelys kinetic art, as examples for the change of the social condition from the industrialisation to the current post-industrial era. The change of social condition I refer to as the ??depersonalisation?? or ??dehumanisation?? effect supported by my working experiences in the health system. The ??medicalisation of the life span?? and the discrepancy of creating a sustainable future less profit orientated are two indicators of how far we have been removed from our bodies. These observations are supported by the writing of Ivan Illich??s Medical Nemesis and Frank Schirrmachers?? analysis of the change of the social structure using the family configuration as an example. These conceptual ideas are visualised by a selection of kinetic art works and video installations. In the heart of this body of work is the process-orientated documentation of Zero AGL project. The project documents the journey of a discarded airplane that was re-assembled and reanimated by myself and a group of volunteers supported by local businesses. The struggle of the group of people stands as a metaphor for the current dilemma of the restricted usage of public space. Further it reflects on my own limitations dealing with the Australian outback culture and the transition of my own sculptural practice from small scale art works into the arena of life size public Art. Those experiences shaped the process and the direction of the project. The motivation for the creation of the body of kinetic sculptures and video installation is to highlight the absurdity of social constructed categories and controlling systems in a post-industrial society. The subject matter focuses on the social construction of the categories of the ??Norm?? and the limitations of failure. Latitudinaria gives the audience a lateral view on how human betterment is not always essentially connected to technological progress but on transforming ideas and enhancing it from a different point of view. * freedom from normal restraints, limitations and regulations.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This research is a practice-based speculative design enquiry into the emerging field of data portraiture. Humans’ use of the networked digital environments that are now so much a part of life leaves a massive data trail of individuals’ everyday interactions with these environments. An increasing quantity of this data trail remains invisible. Although we spend a significant amount of time participating in digital network activities, we have just started to discover the potential of visualising personal data as a graphical representation. The term ‘data portraiture’ was developed by Donath (2014) to describe the practice of ‘artists’ turning these data ‘pictures’ into visible ‘portraits’: ‘Data portraits are depictions of people made by visualising data by and about them’ and ‘their aim is to humanize the online experience’ (187). Data portraits can reveal individuals’ preferences, skills and talent, yet also record their mistakes, failure and history. As a consequence, data portraits can indicate society’s collective engagement in self-surveillance and empower the public to debate the current datafication of social life. Data portraits can appear in different forms; some are graphs, while others are typographic displays that reveal recorded conversations, and some even take a sculptural figurative shape. These data trails can shape depictions of online behaviour, experiences and interests. Traditionally, ‘pictures’ that depict individuals’ physical likeness and infer their behaviour, experiences and interests are labelled ‘portraits’ and created by artists. Network technology enables humans to share personal data on a large scale, thereby facilitating a global dialogue in a telematic society. This research into the emerging field of data portraiture seeks to understand the role of the ‘artist’ as creative practitioner in interpreting qualitative data into image experiences, and to offer insights into the behaviour and interests of individuals engaging with such work. Through a number design iterations, this research investigates a potential visual format by initially using manually collected quantitative data, before shifting to an automated process to record qualitative photography data of selfies shared on Instagram to successfully demonstrate what a ‘global image scenario’ in a gallery has to offer. Further, it reveals the importance of participant contribution to the ‘datafication’ of social life and the emergence of ‘surveillance capitalism’. This study’s original contribution to knowledge focuses on the continuum of aesthetics and functionality, and, throughout the implementation of prototyping, the exegesis reflects on the research’s case study and provides knowledge to the emerging field and design practice.

Delfim Maya (1886-1978) foi o primeiro artista que, em 1934, introduziu em Portugal a escultura em metal, mais precisamente, em folha recortada de ferro e outros metais ‒ o que foi inovador não só pelo material, mas também por ser construída e não modelada ou talhada diretamente noutros materiais. Esta trabalho foi pensado de modo original, passando da bidimensionalidade do desenho, em que fazia a decomposição do volume em planos, para a tridimensionalidade, em que a figura é constituída pelos dobramentos côncavos e convexos da folha de metal, sem soldadura. Por estas características, este artista pode ser relacionado com o Cubismo analítico. Caracterizada pelo movimento e pela velocidade, convergindo com o Futurismo, a obra de Delfim Maya rompe com a produção estática da sua época. Usando o espaço como material escultural, o artista pode ainda ser relacionado com o Construtivismo. Ele foi também um inovador ao trazer o tema do desporto para a escultura, sendo neste campo o artista mais representativo da temática animalista na primeira metade do século XX. Oficial de Cavalaria, demitido do Exército por ter lutado pelo restauro da monarquia, Delfim Maya, em 1930, passou a fazer da arte a sua profissão. Tendo assimilado vários aspetos da cultura espanhola, pode ser considerado um artista ibérico. Persona non grata do regime salazarista, nunca teve encomendas do Estado, defrontando-se toda a vida com graves dificuldades financeiras. Embora reconhecido pelo público e por críticos de arte do seu tempo, Delfim Maya permaneceu esquecido na História de Arte portuguesa.
Delfim Maya (1886-1978) was the sculptor who, in 1934, introduced in Portugal sculptures made of clipped metal sheet – iron, but also other metals – folded from a single piece. His work was ground-breaking as it was created directly from the metal, rather than shaped or carved, like in other materials. It was conceived in a unique way: from the two-dimensional sketch, where the volume was decomposed into plans, to the three-dimensional sculpture, where the figure was created from the concave and convex folds of the metal sheet, without any welding. Based on these features, it can be related into analytical cubism. Essentially characterized by movement, Maya's work breaks away from the static sculpture of his time, converging with futurism. Using space as sculpture material, the sculptor can also be related to Constructivism. He was also a pioneer in bringing sports into sculpture, and the most prominent artist to include animal representation in the Portuguese sculpture of the first half of the 20th century. Cavalry officer, sacked from the army for fighting to restore the monarchy, Delfim Maya started his professional career in arts in 1930. Having assimilated several aspects of the Spanish culture, he may be considered an Iberian artist. Persona non grata of Salazar's regime, he was never commissioned by the State and faced severe financial hardships during his entire life. Despite being recognized by the public and art critics of his time, he remained forgotten in the Portuguese Art History.

The invention of the Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) technique a decade ago enabled the fabrication of nanostructured thin films with highly tailorable structural, electrical, optical, and magnetic properties. Here a three-dimensional atomic-scale growth simulator has been developed to model the growth of thin film materials fabricated with the GLAD technique, utilizing the Monte Carlo (MC) and Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) methods; the simulator is capable of predicting film structure under a wide range of deposition conditions with a high degree of accuracy as compared to experiment. The stochastic evaporation and transport of atoms from the vapor source to the substrate is modeled as random ballistic deposition, incorporating the dynamic variation in substrate orientation that is central to the GLAD technique, and surface adatom diffusion is modeled as either an activated random walk (MC), or as energy dependent complete system transitions with rates calculated based on site-specific bond counting (KMC). The Sculptured Nanostructured Film Simulator (SNS) provides a three-dimensional physical prediction of film structure given a set of deposition conditions, enabling the calculation of film properties including porosity, roughness, and fractal dimension. Simulations were performed under various growth conditions in order to gain an understanding of the effects of incident angle, substrate rotation, tilt angle, and temperature on the resulting morphology of the thin film. Analysis of the evolution of film porosity during growth suggests a complex growth dynamic with significant variations with changes in tilt or substrate motion, in good agreement with x-ray reflectivity measurements. Future development will merge the physical structure growth simulator, SNS, with Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) electromagnetics simulation to allow predictive design of nanostructured optical materials.
Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2009-03-31 13:22:11.843