art

Kinetic sculpture is the jam. This one by Derek Hugger (Who has several pieces of similar art on his site.) simulates the motion of a hummingbird in flight, and does so with what I can only describe as genius-level engineering prowess coupled with unmatched elegance. From the site: Every element of motion has been completely mechanized, from the beating wings to the flaring tail. Intricate systems of linkages and cams bring the sculpture to life with a continuous flow of meticulously timed articulations. Colibri – An Organic Motion Sculpture I personally think it’s more effective running at a slower speed than the one the video shows at the end, which I assume is the speed the creator intended. I hope… Read More »Colibri: an organic motion sculpture

The young wizards at MIT are now 3D-printing molten glass, which is one of the more unexpectedly beautiful uses of that technology. And while the process itself is really cool from a purely technological standpoint, it’s near the end of the video when the pieces are on display that we get to see some really beautiful refractory patterns. Check it out: GLASS from Mediated Matter Group on Vimeo. What I love about these patterns is that they were probably totally unintended, just a happy accident of unexpected beauty.