Comments on: Comments on 19113

Post number 19113

swordfishtrombones — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:46:46 -0800

Strandbeesten (=Beach Animals) is a site by Dutch artist Theo Jansen. Over the last decade, he constructed a number of strange constructions from plastic tubes that walk around on the beach, driven by the winds. A bit like Sodaconstructor but now for real. The video quality is a bit poor, but still it's worthwhile.

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 00:56:15 -0800

those are pretty. it looks as if they can only go in a straight line though, so this: Eventualy he wants to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives. smacks of a little bit of hyperbole.

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 01:08:45 -0800

The videos are just like sodaplay. Neat.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 01:30:55 -0800

Jansen's creations are beautiful. A short explanation of Jansen's methodology. Personally, I am fascinated by art that sets up a rule-base and then explores the variations within those constraints - a strange mix of aesthetics and function, like architecture for an abstract civilization.

By: Keyser Soze

Keyser Soze — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 02:50:09 -0800

That was a great link swordfish.

By: Tacodog

Tacodog — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 03:01:30 -0800

And a close second in coolness is that painting machine--a xerox copier for buildings. Very neat link swordfish. Thank you.

By: gametone

gametone — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 04:43:11 -0800

"Some of the animals live their lives just in the computer. Maybe someday they wil come out. " So what is going on? My dial-up connection allows me to view these videos only in half-second bursts, and they are so small that it is hard to judge possible trickery. Are the videos all computer generated imagery? The movement certainly seems too complex to be generated just by wind power in those tangles of plastic pipe. And vacapinta's link indicates that this guy is known for his AI animals. Whatever. They are amazing science fiction images, beautifully done.

By: swordfishtrombones

swordfishtrombones — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 05:25:10 -0800

No trickery here. Some are just in their design stage, however. Jansen uses some kind of 'evolution' to make new designs. Some work, others don't. One of his creations is hanging from the ceiling in our faculty: it's 5 meters long and seems rather heavy, but I've seen footage of it actually 'walking'.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 05:57:52 -0800

Belongs at Burning Man

By: Eamon

Eamon — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 06:00:03 -0800

In 1975 Theo Jansen quits his study Physics at the University of Delft and becomes a painter. Thanks, swordfish, for providing a new role model.

By: argybarple

argybarple — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 06:38:58 -0800

Wow. Brilliant! Thanks for that, S. Wonder what the seagulls think of them... On the one hand, they look perfectly like part of their environment, moving in a relationship with the wind. On the other hand, they look mechanized and strange and out of place, alien to nature -- just like humanity.

By: daver

daver — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 09:16:14 -0800

Very cool link. However, I suspect that until the beach animals are able to right themeselves after having been blown over, these will become beach junk in fairly short order. Maybe the wind at dutch beaches is gentler than it is here?

By: RakDaddy

RakDaddy — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 09:22:47 -0800

This was one of the first things I saw on the net, lo those many years ago. And it's just as cool now as it was in '96. Those beasts look so elegant and alien, and yet sturdy enough to stand up to strong winds. I wonder how they'd do marching up and down Santa Monica and Venice?

By: gravelshoes

gravelshoes — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 10:33:33 -0800

wow! thanks for that. I've looked around for information on the actual mechanics of them but couldn't find any. any info? (also a pity there was no close up of all those little feet in action)

By: gravelshoes

gravelshoes — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 10:43:45 -0800

also, although quite different, it reminds me of Panamarenko (can't find much on him either- one of those days...), who makes fantastic flying machines and land and sea vehicles, although most of them don't actually work. Here is an airship he built because he wanted to land it in Brigitte Bardot's garden and whisk her away in. what a man!

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 11:45:41 -0800

gravelshoes: That's odd. I was at the Dia center site yesterday. I was looking for more info on Susan Hiller (I was hoping that the Witness recordings were online) and stumbled on some old web project of hers. The Dia site has some interesting web projects including this small soundscape from Stephen Vitiello.

By: gametone

gametone — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 22:27:47 -0800

" but I've seen footage of it actually 'walking'." posted by swordfishtrombones Any more eye-witnesses to these fabulous creatures? Or are there any folks who can explain what the mechanisms behind their locomotion are? I can speculate that they scuttle across the sand, pushed by the wind, their feet scraping, vibrating along, balanced delicately between rolling like a tumbleweed and keeping those flexy feet on the ground. I can also imagine a mechanism that could alternately raise and lower sets of legs, through energy derived from some sort of turbine to cam hookup. That plus the sail effect of a breeze through it's skeleton might make it progress with a gate of sorts, in whatever direction the breeze blows. Am I on the right track? Or are these things powered by reverse engineered zero-point cold-fusion anti-gravity nanobots.

By: dg

dg — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 22:50:49 -0800

Most of those pictures look like something from a Pink Floyd album cover. I won't even try the video on my connection, but I am quite intrigued - I imagine the wind pushing them along, with the feet moving forward as the forward force of the whole overcomes the friction of each individual foot. The biggest trick may be to generate enough forward momentum to move the beast without tipping it over. Or maybe gametone has it right in his final comment? Nice site, too.

By: frykitty

frykitty — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 23:40:32 -0800

Oh, how I wish the video were better quality. I would love to see one of these in much more detail. Beautiful stuff. Thanks so much for the link.