Dutch Strandbeests Kinetic Sculpture
Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests Sculpture Full of Hot Air
Watch this video of these amazing creatures, er, sculptures:
Dutch sculptor Theo Jansen creates these moving sculptures he dubs “strandbeests” out of yellow plastic tubing. He started these works in 1990 and continues to build and exhibit them around the world.
Amazingly, they are powered only by wind which blows their wings. Their design changes and evolves in order to more efficiently capture the wind.
They even have a level of intelligence. Feelers in their feet sense when they touch the water and the beach animals move in the opposite direction.
The works are even able to store some of the wind for use when it is not such a blustery day. So while the Strandbeests kinetic sculptures may not be filled with hot air (literally or figuratively), they may actually have a stash of a cool sea breeze.
Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen is current on exhibition in Boston through Jan. 3. From there, the beasts will move to Chicago and then San Francisco.
Photo: Animaris Umerus, Scheveningen beach, The Netherlands (2009). Courtesy of Theo Jansen. Photo by Loek van der Klis
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