Applied Kinetic Arts

Just finished my latest.

Deer III
Typewriter parts
20”x36”x38”
2010

Standing. Almost done.

I had this idea of mounting an electric motor on the back of a figure for a while now- and I’m pretty happy with the results. The motor dictated the size of the figure which is larger than my “standard” size figure. The piece measures 9 1/2″ x 19″ x 9 1/2″ and the propeller is powered by a 2o RPM motor. Click on images for a larger view.

Front view.

His power pack, complete with hand-carved propeller. I had to engineer the “backpack” in a way so the motor could be easily replaced (someday) if needed. Two screws hold everything together and the small round tin holds the wires which are connected with small wire nuts.

I did some preliminary carving on the legs and shoes, then cut them in half lengthwise in order to place the reinforcing rods and wires inside. You can see the legs are made with a half lap joint.

The wire runs alongside the 3/16″ rod. I used CA glue to hold the rod and wire and wood glue on the wood surfaces.

The legs reassembled, ready for more carving.

The body and “backpack” in progress – you can see how the motor is placed here.

Carved hands ready to be attached to the arms and then painted.

The hands holding the controls.

The head before paint.
I really tried to push the caricature aspect of his face and when Paula said, “he looks French”, I knew I accomplished what I was hoping for.

His head after painting and aging.

The figure, ready to be dressed.

This back view shows how his arms were glued into place before his shirt is sewn up. I had 4 mounting holes for the “backpack”. Here you can see the wires that come up his legs, go through his torso and come out his back.

Each layer of fabric was cut away to reveal the mounting holes for the “backpack”.

My table while working on the backpack part of “Undaunted” – you can see my drawing of the piece underneath.

The motor cover – in progress.

The motor cover before antiquing. I took a while to drill all the tiny holes and fish the ends of the screen through but I couldn’t see any other way to do it.

The “backpack” ready to be place on the figure’s back and finished. Four “hoses” were added in final assembly.

The “backpack” all assembled.

Detail shot of the shoes. In the past I’ve always painted on the laces- these are a little more work but I think it’s worth it.

View of deck and shoes. Soon I will post a step by step of how I made and finished the deck.

Video of “Undaunted”….

Deer III taking his first steps.

By Dan Vanmoll

We are doing some minor rearranging of the site over the next few weeks so if things look incomplete or missing, that’s the reason.

Thanks.

Now you can buy Almost Scientific creations, such as our wooden and paper rocket models, directly from the source by heading over to our new For Sale page.

You can find it directly as an option in the menu above. See it over there in the upper right.  Go on, give it a click.

I’m pleased to announce that I have final images and video of two new pieces to share. The sculpture above is titled “The Race”, and the one below is titled “Party of One”.
Click the titles or images of each piece to be taken to its corresponding page. Scroll down this page for video. These pieces can also be found on my “for sale” page.

Not too long ago I posted a nice little review of the San Francisco dump’s Artist in Residency 25th anniversary exhibit. Well, another one just turned up in the S.F. weekly.
Pasted below is the full text, or click here to be taken to S.F. Weekly’s site.

Garbage gallery: At Recology, turning trash into treasure
By Jonathan Curiel
SF Weekly
August 18, 2010
   Sixty years ago, when he was the world’s most prosperous and acclaimed visual artist, Pablo Picasso would walk the streets of his French neighborhood and go through garbage bins. He created scores of sculptures from objects that were discarded or otherwise neglected. Bull’s Head (1943) was made from the seat and handlebars of an old bike; She-Goat (1950) from scrap metal, a wicker basket, ceramic jugs, and palm fronds; and Baboon and Young (1951) from two toy cars (formerly owned by Picasso’s son), cup handles, a jug, and metal. Dumpster diving has a long and honorable tradition in the arts, but San Francisco’s garbage company, Recology, has codified it in a way that is unparalleled — at least in the United States.
   Every four months, a new group of artists takes up “residence” at the company’s main dump by Highway 101, close to Candlestick Park. There, sculptors, painters, collagists, photographers, filmmakers, and composers sift through what Recology euphemistically calls “the waste stream.” It sounds worse than it is. The artists are limited to items, bags, and boxes city residents have brought to the site, and when it comes to paints, Recology inspectors have already ensured that donations meet safety standards. The everyday trash and recycling from San Francisco homes never ends up in the artists’ work — but what does is often astounding.
   How about tufts of red human hair? Photographer Patrick Haywood found them at Recology in 2005, put the follicles in a white envelope, set them against a black background, and took a photo that turned the thrown-away hair into an object of mystery and beauty. Then there are the antlers sculptor Nemo Gould chanced upon in 2007. He put the appendages on parts of other found objects — an electric sander, projector, vacuum cleaner, meat grinder, motorcycle clutch lever, bandsaw, and garlic press – and created Impala, a shiny animal with wheels that would delight any kid or art aficionado.
These are two highlights of “Art of the Dump: Twenty Years of the Artist-in-Residency Program at Recology.” Almost 100 artists have participated since the program began in 1990, more than half of whom are represented in the retrospective. Whether it’s called “garbage art,” “found object art,” “reinvented waste,” or another name, the work on display at Intersection 5M is worthy of high praise. Not only is the art wildly inventive (and often profound or funny), it also prompts visitors to reassess their own discards — and to look at the possibility of art in objects they consider valueless.
   “We want to encourage people of all ages to recycle and think about their consumptive habits, [and] artists have always used recycling materials, so it’s a perfect mix,” program director Deborah Munk says.
   Joshua Short transformed glass, wood, chain link, a hammer, a condenser motor, a small unit to cool rooms, and a Budweiser can into Emergency Ice Cold Beer — a working, plugged-in device that keeps the alcohol cold until the owner is ready to extract it by breaking the glass cover. It could even be said that Short is the Picasso of found art, since his CV includes even more impressive creations, such as a living-room-sized bomb shelter and a working grill with a “Disco Ball turntable.”
   Emergency is Short’s only art at Intersection 5M, but “Art of the Dump” is proof that good garbage artists are ubiquitous in the Bay Area. Inevitably, their work finds a home far beyond the walls of Recology. Consider the works of two other local artists with pieces at the show.
   In 2003, Packard Jennings displayed his satire of the U.S. government’s terror alert system, a “Terrorist Alert Today” sign made from wood and paint he found at Recology. The alert levels included “Fictitious” and appeared on the sidewalks of San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles, causing people to “do double takes and lots of rubbernecking,” he recalls. After composer Nathaniel Stookey developed his Junkestra at Recology in 2007, he took the music and its instruments — bottles, mixing bowls, pans, oil drums, saws, bird cages, shopping carts, and other assorted finds — to Davies Symphony Hall, where it was performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Junkestra is now available at iTunes and Amazon.
   At Intersection 5M, the audio station is directly across from the filmmakers’ station, which showcases another worthwhile music-based project, Banker White’s I Am Your Appetite. Beyond the array of notable background sounds (including Spanish guitar and Philip Glass-like minimalism), Appetite spotlights a man at Civic Center who wears a bread outfit and befriends pigeons and people.
   While it may sound like so much artifice, “Art of the Dump” is no freakshow. These are projects by recognized artists (White’s most recent work is the nationally acclaimed documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars) who happen to work at San Francisco’s central garbage and recycling center for four months. No other city in America has a similar program, Munk says. More than 100 people apply every year for the paid residencies, which require the artists to display their output at Recology.
   The work at Intersection 5M is a highlights show that confirms what Picasso once called “the gift of metamorphosis.” He was referring to found objects that are reoriented into new ones. Reimagining is what artists do every day. This filtering is more recognizable, more naked to the eye, at “Art of the Dump,” which transforms the exhibit itself into an experience that is full of pleasant surprises.
 

I’ll be showing my sculpture “Above it All” at the exhibit “Visions of Paradise”, opening this Friday at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. This promises to be a very interesting show encompassing the work of many artists over many generations. Curator Virginia Breier continues to be a champion of art made with a sesitivity to craftmanship.
I’m afraid I will not be able to attend this opening but will post photos as they become available.
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
551 Broadway | P.O. Box 322 | Sonoma, CA 95476
phone: 707.939.7862 | fax: 707.939.1080

I’m honored to announce an upcoming group show featuring myself, Greg Brotherton, Jeremy Mayer, and Guillermo Rigattieri at the illustrious Device Gallery in San Diego. This show will have a short run, September 3-5 and with the reception on Saturday September 4th from 7-10 p.m. Sadly I will not be able to attend this one, but will post photos as soon as I have them.
Device Gallery
1815-B Main Street, San Diego CA 92113
619-278-8455

For those who missed the opening of “Machinations” at 5 Claude Lane there was an informal gallery talk with the artists (myself, Jeremy Mayer, and Benjamin Cowden) moderated by the awesome David Pescovitz from BoingBoing.net. If you missed that too, well here is a video of the discussion:

Listen up …

This is the main announcement for the rocket stop. There are other announcements that I’ll post soon, but this is the core one. If you hang around the Rocket Stop for about 10 minutes you should hear this one.

I wrote it in collaboration with Copylicious, the voice talent was provided by Naomi and Leslie Gruntiz, and the production and recordings were done by Andrew Jimenez.  And the programming of all the hardware was done by Five Ton Crane Crew – Weeb, Drew, Colleen, CTP.

My favorite part of this recording is the mention of Larf Flu.

Download audio file (00054rocketstop1.mp3)

August 26 – October 16, 2010 : “Mayor’s Art Show”- Eugene, Oregon. Juried group exhibition which will include my sculpture “Factotum”:

“Factotum”, 2009, 30″ x 30″ x 7″ (wall hanging), found object assemblage

October 7 – December 31, 2010: “Re-Cycle: Bike Culture in Southern California” – Riverside, California at the new Culver Center for the Arts.
One of my cycle-themed sculptures, “R-Evolve”, will be featured in this invitational exhibition:

“R-Evolve”, 2009 , 34″ x 82″ x 22″, welded steel and found objects

November 6 – December 7, 2010: “Oh my Skull !” – Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, New Jersey
I will have 2-3 sculptures in this group invitational show, including my momento mori “The Thirteenth Skull”:

“The Thirteenth Skull”, 2009 , 34″ diameter x 10″ depth, found object assemblage

Back to the studio now; I’ll have new work to post in a couple days!

From Flickr users The Other Martin Taylor.

I first became aware of this guy a few years back. A true hero of mine, accomplishing tremendous feats with the humblest of means. Enjoy his latest:

My next show coming up, along with Greg Brotherton, Guillermo Rigattieri, and Nemo Gould.

September 3-5, with an artist reception September 4th, 7-10pm at Device Gallery in the Glashaus Building, 1815-B Main Street, San Diego, CA.

Device Gallery is an Art Lab site participating in the Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair.

Further progress and a better photo of the deer.

Progress on the latest piece.

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship Rocket Stop — Showing on Pier 14 of the San Francisco Embarcadero for 14 months.

More pics from my latest commission. I’m ready to put it all together except an integral part is on back order – the sound/applause component won’t be in the studio until the end of August. I set this aside and started working on more pieces for my Obsolete show. Pics of that to follow soon……

The stage is finished and painted.

The curtain, made from thin plywood – painted and aged.

The curtain inserted into lid. It’s not attached to the hinges yet, of course.

Two tiny arms, ready for assembly.

One of the smallest set of fully-carved hands I’ve ever done.

The performers body, pre-assembly. The dress is put on and the arms and head are glued in position. Finally the back of the dress is hand-sewn closed.

The figure ready to be placed on stage. Bravo!

Her head up close.

I will post final pics when I get it all together, and also a video of how it works.

This is an informal talk with the artists featured in the exhibition “Machinations” at gallery 5 Claude Lane in San Francisco (July 14 – Aug 21, 2010).
David Pescovitz from Boing Boing interviews artists Benjamin Cowden, Nemo Gould, and Jeremy Mayer and speaks with them about their works in the show.

ARTIST AARON RISTAU SHOWCASED AT ART LAB LOVELAND

Gallery to Host Opening Reception August 13th

Loveland, Colo. (August 3rd, 2010) – Artist Aaron Ristau’s most recent artwork will be debuted to the public at his upcoming exhibition, “Aaron’s Art Lab 2010.”  Art Lab Loveland will host Ristau and his work at its gallery in downtown Loveland at 218 E. 4th St.  An opening night reception will be held on August 13th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

His new collection features technology recycled and re-crafted into sculpture.  More than 30 light and kinetic sculptures will be featured including a custom computer mouse, mechanical sculptures, a remote controlled spacecraft light sculpture, retro punk-style accessories, mobiles, floor lamps, wall sculptures, chandeliers and night lights.

Ristau’s art has previously been exhibited at several galleries throughout Texas and Colorado and featured at MAKE Magazine’s 2008 Maker Faire in Austin, Texas.

Loveland, Colo., artist Aaron Ristau has a fascination with creating art that blends nostalgic aesthetics with contemporary function.  His whimsical mechanisms and functional lighting assemblages are an intricate integration and redefinition of reclaimed components he discovers at yard sales, attics, garages and auctions.  Ristau’s inspiration for light sculpture began with his exposure to the “Marfa Lights” phenomena while living in the Big Bend, Texas area artist community from 1998 to 2003.  With a professional background in industrial technology, interdisciplinary fabrication and repair, Ristau currently works as an installation and fabrication technician at ARC Science Simulations, creators of the OmniGlobe®, in Loveland, Colo.

“Aaron’s Art Lab 2010″ runs August 13 through September 4.  Gallery hours are Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Admission is free.  For more information, please call Aaron Ristau at (970) 420-4523.

About Aaron Ristau

Loveland, Colo., artist Aaron Ristau has a fascination with creating art that blends nostalgic aesthetics with contemporary function.  His whimsical mechanisms and functional lighting assemblages are an intricate integration and redefinition of reclaimed components he discovers at yard sales, attics, garages and auctions.  With a professional background in industrial technology, interdisciplinary fabrication and repair, Ristau currently works as an installation and fabrication technician at ARC Science Simulations, creators of the OmniGlobe®, in Loveland, Colo.  For more information, please visit www.aaronristau.com.

About Art Lab Loveland

You’ve seen those empty storefronts as you’ve wandered the streets of downtown Loveland.  They look like buildings that need some energy to make them happy again.  That’s what Art Lab Loveland is all about.  We’re temporarily filling those wonderful buildings with art, innovation, music, smiling faces.

Post on BoingBoing announcing a talk that Nemo Gould, Ben Cowden, and I will be doing tomorrow at 5 Claude Lane Gallery. Come on out and ask us something.

6pm, at 5 Claude Lane Gallery, 5 Claude Lane, San Francisco.

MAP

For those who missed the opening of “Machinations” at 5 Claude Lane there will be an informal Artists talk this Tuesday, August 3rd at 6pm (featuring myself, Jeremy Mayer, and Benjamin Cowden). We are proud to have David Pescovitz from BoingBoing.net acting as moderator to keep us on track.

From the gallery:
Join us in exploring the worlds of three distinctive artists! Interact, learn, and exchange ideas at 5 Claude Lane, leaving behind your traditional notions of lecture. Moderated by David Pescovitz, the evening will be an exploration into the creative drive fueling Machinations and it’s sculptors.

Featuring the distinctive elements of re-use transformational sculpture while exploring human interaction and objectification.  “Machinations,” is a cunning reference to the shifting and subjective definition of what constitutes art.  A variety of kinetic based art is on display—ranging from whimsical creatures and life size scupltures crafted from twisted metal bits, to interactive machines.  
…



5 Claude Ln., San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 956-1310 tel
5claudelane.com

A while ago I found a nice big two page photo of a desert motorcycle race in a 1970’s Life Magazine. My immediate thought was to cut out a long strip of the image and wrap it around a motorized scroll to create the effect of the riders flying past the viewer.