Lord of the pipes

Meet Theo Jansen:  Dutch artist, kinetic sculptor and demented, unlikely progenitor of a race of thermoplastic polymer-based “children,” as he lovingly refers to them.

Since 1990, Meneer Jansen has been rather disturbingly preoccupied with the making of a new nature—self-propelled, skeletal creatures of a polyvinyl chloride (otherwise known as PVC) constitution and little else. They feed only on wind and the ingenuity of Jansen. Take a gander:

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Ultimately, Jansen means to bestow his offspring with their own obstacle-avoiding (namely, the sea) intelligence by rearing them to change direction when such an obstacle is perceived. Once that gene is engineered into their toxic DNA, he plans to propagate herds of these plastic creatures and put them out to pasture on the beaches of Holland—destined to live their own lives long after he is gone. Learn more about Jansen’s brilliant madness here.

Gratitude is due to my opponent Daniel for laying this pile of weird shit on my cyber-doorstep, setting it aflame, then running like hell. We’re all odder for it.

~ by zactopia on March 9, 2011.