The Pride

Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Features

"The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds," said Dutch engineer Theo Jansen. However, by taking one look at his work, it would seem that Jansen has broken the barrier between the machine and the living being.

YouTube currently hosts a video by user "wallyworld" of a visually mystifying montage displaying what Jansen calls his "Strandbeests": kinetic sculptures built from surgical tubing, lemonade bottles, plastic ties, and a whole host of other commonly used supplies. Though made from artificial materials, Jansen's "animals" glide about Rotterdam beaches with strangely organic movements never before seen from man-made machines.

These beach creatures power themselves not from food or photosynthesis, but from the wind. Wings on the back of the Animaris Percipiere (one of Jansen's creations) pump air into reservoir "stomachs" (old lemonade bottles) for use later if the winds fall; an "evolutionary" modification, as Jansen puts it. Not to be upstaged, the two-ton Animaris Rhinoceros transport device, made from hinged steel and a polyester "skin," is capable of moving up to 4.7 tons with no propulsion needed but the brackish, Atlantic breeze.

The genius in these sculptures exists in Jansen's goal to let herds of machines "live" alone in the surf. He is well on in this quest; compressed air valves located on the feet are able to sense the distance the machine is from the shore or the dry dunes. Even more astounding, variant changes in wind patterns can trigger the machine to drive a stake into the sand, anchoring it as a means of evading a storm.

Jansen studied science at the University of Delft in Holland, but focused on painting for the seven years following his graduation. His first engineering endeavor caused a panicked awe throughout Delft with his design (and execution) of an actual flying saucer. The complexities and innovation of Jansen's eighteen years of study and invention of Strandbeests show great things on the horizon for this visionary; some even describe his design as a more efficient version of the wheel.

The video's creator, "wallyworld," edits together a BMW commercial that featured Jansen as well as footage from a film entitled "Strandbeesten" that may be purchased at the artist's website: http://www.strandbeest.com/ (though the site is mostly in Dutch).

To watch the video, "A Modern-Day DaVinci Genius?" visit:http://www.linkrook.com/257_Movie.
To view Jansen's presentation of "Strandbeesten," visit: http://www.linkrook.com/256_Movie.

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