Wednesday
Theo Jansen Creates a New Species
Theo Jansen is an artist from Holland who has, using solely plastic tubes, lemonade bottles and wind, created a new species. He has designed these creatures to move and survive on their own amongst the beaches of Holland. These kinetic sculptures, otherwise known as "Strandbeests" are so high tech that they are able to avoid the sea and stay on land in order to survive.
While I find Jansen's project incredibly intriguing and innovative, I struggle with understanding the concept, or more so, the goal of creating this new species. It seems as though he has constructed these sculptures because it would be a, for lack of better words, "cool" idea. Above all else, I would love to hear a follow-up several years from now, after these new forms of life have had a very long time to LIVE on the beaches, to learn about their longevity.
2 comments:
Wow, I can't believe that we are just hearing about this creature after his proclaimed "sixteen years" of working on this invention. It is very irksome that these artificial beasts are able to function alone in nature. However, it is neat that they are able to obtain energy by the natural elements surrounding them. Although they are "trapped" on the beach by the barriers of dry sand and water, it concerns me that they may overpower their current boundaries and become a danger.
It is intriguing to witness the ways in which these Strandbeests have evolved to become "smarter" and more functional. I can see a similarity of their existence to that of robots, but I feel as though these creatures have a less identifiable purpose for being. I agree with you Dee, I am interested in hearing about the fate of these beings after a period of time to gain any type of knowledge we can about this artificial life form.
This is Jaclyn's post, by the way. :)
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