Hello World (again)

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Phil

I am ‘reactivating’ this blog mainly because I’ve started using Twitter and can see it’ll be useful to have a place to post stuff that requires more than 140 characters to express. Also because I found myself being quoted off Twitter in other publications, which I can see might have ramifications.

I’ll chuck a persistent copy of this post in the ‘About’ page, but if you’re reading this I guess I should give a few more words of explanation:

I’m not a particularly committed blogger. For example, my Posts dashboard is full of year-old unpublished Drafts and I’m still trying to find the time to move the rest of the old ID card posts I did back in 2004 – which led to me becoming involved in No2ID – from a crappy HTML archive file into WordPress. (It’s not the HTML bit that’s so hard, it’s checking and tracking down links. In some ways this internet of ours has a very short memory…)

By default I talk/blog/tweet/post in my own capacity. If I’m speaking on behalf of any of the organisations I run/work for/work with/advise, I will say so – so please don’t quote me as “Phil Booth from XYZ” unless I have explicitly confirmed I am speaking in that capacity. Thank you.

(If you would like to find out about at least some of those organisations, I maintain a public resume on LinkedIn.)

Oh, and if you’d like to read my first ever post on ID cards, it’s here: Getting my goat. I still haven’t got all of them up but the ones that are now posted are in chronological order with most of the links working.

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Kinetic Artists

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Phil

A growing alphabetical list of Kinetic Artists from around the world, with videos and links to their sculptures and machines…

(This page was split off from my list of Automata Makers when the combined list became too large.)

Jim Bond (UK)
Jim Bond is a mechanical sculptor who works mainly in metal and scrap materials. Jim uses motors, pneumatics and armatures that “by sedulously aping our daily routines” mock human notions of constancy.

Jim Bond (with Martin Smith and Nik Ramage) on Vimeo

Duane Flatmo (USA)
Born in 1957, Duane Flatmo is an American artist, based in northern California, best known for his large kinetic sculpture racing machines. Duane has participated in many “kinetic sculpture races”, including the Kinetic Grand Championship where he was a regular competitor since 1982.

Arthur Ganson (USA)
Arthur Ganson began making kinetic sculpture in 1977. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and Europe. Arthur has held residencies at a number of institutions including the Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has maintained an ongoing exhibition of his kinetic sculpture at the MIT Museum since 1995.

Arthur Ganson YouTube Channel

Bernhard Jordi (Switzerland)
Bernhard Jordi was born in Bern, Switzerland in 1969. He trained as a civil engineer and locksmith and has worked as a sculptor since 1989. Bernhard’s kinetic sculptures are as purposeless as they are inspiring, with a poetic and delicate aesthetic. They invite the viewer to engage; with a few turns of a handle, his constructions come to life.

Bernhard Jordi YouTube Channel

Bernhard Luginbühl (Switzerland)
Bernhard Luginbühl was born in Bern in 1929. He became well known as an abstract sculptor in iron and steel. Bernhard met Jean Tinguely in the late 1950s, and the two collaborated intensively over the following decades. In 1998, Bernhard opened a sculpture park of his own works in his hometown of Mötschwil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqhAkXWnEPs

Bernhard Luginbühl playlist on YouTube

Tim Prentice (USA)
Tim Prentice, kinetic sculptor, received a Masters Degree in architecture from Yale in 1960. Fifteen years later, he established a studio in Cornwall, Connecticut to design and fabricate kinetic sculpture. Tim’s work grows out of the tradition of Alexander Calder and George Rickey.

https://vimeo.com/38877211

Tim Prentice playlist on YouTube

Survival Research Laboratories (USA)
Survival Research Laboratories was founded by Mark Pauline in 1978. SRL operates as an organization of creative technicians dedicated to re-directing the techniques, tools and tenets of industry, science and the military away from their typical manifestations in practicality, product or warfare. Since 1979, SRL has staged over 45 mechanized presentations in the United States and Europe.

Survival Research Laboratories YouTube Channel

Jean Tinguely (Switzerland)
The grandaddy of kinetic sculpture, best known for his sculptural machines and kinetic art in the Dada tradition, known officially as ‘metamechanics’. Tinguely’s art satirized the mindless overproduction of material goods in advanced industrial society.

Jean Tinguely playlist on YouTube

Norman Tuck (USA)
Norman Tuck was born in 1945 and spent his childhood in Miami Beach. During graduate school he began his signature series of large, simple kinetic pieces constructed of wood and metal rods and strips. Norman’s interactive, kinetic sculpture has been widely displayed in art and science museums throughout Europe and the United States.

Norman Tuck YouTube Channel

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Paper Engineers

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Phil

POP-UPS

Marion Bataille
Website: http://www.marionbataille.com/

Elod Beregszaszi (Popupology)
Website: http://www.popupology.co.uk/

David A. Carter
Website: http://www.popupbooks.com/

Sam Ita
Website: http://samita-us.tumblr.com/

Courtney Watson McCarthy
Website: http://www.offcenterpops.com/

Mike Malkovas
Website: http://www.mikemalkovas.com/concept/

Keith Moseley
Website: http://www.pop-upworld.com/

Kees Moerbeek
Website: http://www.keesmoerbeek.com/

Ellen G. Kreiger Rubin (The Popuplady)
Website: http://www.popuplady.com/

Robert Sabuda
Website: http://wp.robertsabuda.com/

Eric Singelin
Website: http://eric-singelin.blogspot.co.uk/

Paul Stickland
Website: http://paulstickland.co.uk/

 

ORIGAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Maria Victoria Garrido
Origamic Architecture: http://marivi_10.tripod.com/
Heraldry website: http://marivi_heraldry.tripod.com/

Ingrid Siliakus
Website: http://www.ingrid-siliakus.exto.org/

Bryant Yee
Paper Engineering: https://bryantyee.wordpress.com/category/paper-engineering/
Origamic Architecture: http://www.yeesjob.com/origamic-architecture.htm

 

PAPER ENGINEERS

Peter Dahmen
Website: https://peterdahmen.de/en/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DesignPD

Erik and Martin Demaine
Curved-Crease Sculpture: http://erikdemaine.org/curved/

Richard Sweeney
Website: http://www.richardsweeney.co.uk/

Ea Borre
Website: http://eaborre.blogspot.co.uk/

Suhail Shaikh (Paper My Wishes)
Website: http://papermywishes.blogspot.co.uk/

Sher Christopher
Website: http://www.sherchristopher.com/

Shaz Madani
Website: http://smadani.com/arctic-paper/

Lo Siento Studio
Website: http://www.losiento.net/entry/question-mark-museu-del-disseny

Helen Friel
Website: http://www.helenfriel.com/
(Here’s Looking At Euclid: http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/helen-friel-heres-looking-at-euclid)

 

ORIGAMI

Robert J. Lang
Website: http://www.langorigami.com/

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70+ Contemporary Automata Makers

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Phil

[Originally published in May 2012]

An ever-expanding alphabetical list of contemporary Automata Makers from around the world, with videos and links to their works…

This web page got very large, so I created a separate list of Kinetic Artists – though the distinction between the two may sometimes be a bit arbitrary.

—

The page got so large, in fact, that I created a separate site for it and other Automata-related stuff. If you’re interested, please visit Automatopedia.

 

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Free Paper Automata to Download

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Phil

Here’s an updated list of paper automata that are free to download:

Brother Creative Centre
https://creativecenter.brother.eu/family-center/family-filter?category=paper-craft
Wide range of papercraft to download and make, including some basic mechanisms (crank, gears and cams) and several animal automata by Rob Ives.

Canon Creative Park
http://cp.c-ij.com/en/index.html
Canon’s Creative Park provides over 50 ‘Moving Toys’ in its Paper Craft section, including paper automata by well-known artists such as Keisuke Saka, Hideharu Naitoh, Haruki Nakamura, and Rob Ives.

Jonathan Hodgins
http://www.instructables.com/id/Walking-Papercraft-Mech-Warrior/
An Instructable for a paper automata Mech Warrior that appears to walk when a crank is turned.

Kamibox
http://www.kamibox.de/download
Several themed paper automata to download and make, including a Minecraft Machine, a Gangnam Style Machine, a Tiny Wings Machine, a Paper Mario Machine, a Kirby Machine, and a Nyan Cat Machine.

Keisuke Saka
http://www.zuko.to/kobo/dl/market_sheep_e.html
Link to ‘Stray Sheep’, a free paper automaton by Japanese designer Keisuke Saka, who has produced many other wonderful paper automata, for sale individually via his website, on Canon Creative Park (see above) or in his book, Karakuri: How to Make Mechanical Paper Models That Move. With a bit of digging around, it is also possible to find several other free paper automata by the maestro: a rotating Train on the Japanese Ministry of Transport website, a Rice-Thumping Rabbit and various Flying Animals on the Kirin website, a Woodpecker and Worm, and three Christmas automata – Flapping Angel, Ebony & Ivory (& Yellow), and Turkey on 23rd December.

Matt Hawkins (Custom Paper Toys)
http://www.custompapertoys.com/
US-based cartoonist Matt Hawkins creates marvellous paper toys, including a number of automata: Mr Robot, Owwwl, Chuckles, and – with a mechanism designed by Rob Ives – Paper Pop Andy Warhol.

Objective Ministries
http://objectiveministries.org/kidz/crafts.html
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to the somewhat eccentric Professor Giraffenstein’s Clockwork Creation Science Factoidamajig, and Pteva the Pterodactyl flying automata.

Paperpino
http://www.paperpino.net/category/paper-automata/
Over half a dozen free paper automata by Giuseppe Civitarese a.k.a. Paperpino, including Sweet Dreams, Peace Dove, Wandering in the Sky, The Rolling Reels Circus, Warning! Air Pockets, and working models of Leonardo da Vinci’s Anemometer and Mechanical Hammer. (Also some wonderful Paper Globes.)

Ravensblight
http://ravensblight.com/papertoys.html
Lots of spooky paper toys to construct by Ray O’Bannon, including a Mechanical Bat automata and a Haunted Carousel.

Rob Ives
https://www.robives.com/category/tags/free
You can find paper automata designed by prolific British paper engineer Rob Ives all over the place – Brother’s Creative Centre and Canon’s Creative Park (above) to name but two. Rob also has a range of free downloads from his own website, including: Agreeable Sheep, Cat o’Log, a rocking Unicorn!, flapping Owl, Pop-up Pumpkin and a couple of working mechanisms, a simple Crank Slider and a Double Action Ratchet.

Robot Tairiku (in Japanese)
http://mizio-s.hp.infoseek.co.jp/r-kata.html
Download and construct an arm-Flapping Robot, an articulated Robot Arm, and a trunk-raising Elephant.

Ryo Tokisato (in Japanese)
http://www1.rcn.ne.jp/~pi-ne/sigoto.html
Scroll down the page to download the free Flapping Penguinbank, which moves when you drop your money in the slot.

Sasatoku Printing Company (in Japanese)
http://www.sasatoku.co.jp/html/contents/special/papercraft/
Click on the grey bar below the first set of paper flowers to expand the page, and scroll down. 6 free paper automata available: Winking Cat, Sailor Monkey, Seal Balancing Gift, Laughing Horse, Woodpecker, and Mole.

Steven Marshall
http://www.homespunmagixx.com/dragon/dragon_download.asp
A ‘build before you buy’ undulating Jade Dragon paper automata.

The Toy Shop
https://mikeandlace.wordpress.com/category/paper-automata/
20 working mechanical models to print out and make, originally from an old Commodore 64 program in the 1980s.

Walter Ruffler
http://www.walterruffler.de/Download/teich2.html
Walter Ruffler has a whole range of ingenious paper automata for sale on his website and in his book, Paper Models That Move: 14 Ingenious Automata, and More. At the Duck’s Pond is a free download to whet your appetite, and he also offers a couple of free mechanical greetings cards: Angel and Mr Deer.

And here are a few, simpler, one-off paper automata:

Chip Fyn (Fiddler’s Green)
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/misc/cow/free-cow.htm
A free Bobbin’ Head Cow to download and make – guy or gal variety.

Funny Character Cafe (in Japanese)
http://fccafe.fc2web.com/santa.html
Yuuku’s Wriggling Santa got stuck in the chimney…

Joe McRichardson
http://joemcrichardson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/paper-toy-frighteneddude.htmlA FrightenedDude whose mouth opens and closes.

Peter J. Visser
http://www.icebergbouwplaten.nl/free4.html
A simple nodding cat.

Ray Keim
http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index302.html
A simple lever mechanism makes the ghost try to lift the lid of this Conservatory Coffin.

Takeo Hayashi
http://www10.ocn.ne.jp/~papiy/tenkai.html
Scroll down for the pattern and instructions for a karakuri Box Dog Puppy with flapping ears.

Tubby Paws
http://tubbypaws.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/meow-again-its-time-for-papercraft.html
A cute Keyboard Cat paper automata.

William Bullock
http://williambullock.blogspot.co.uk/2011_05_01_archive.html
A waving hand in a box.

And finally, an archive of antique paper mechanical toys uploaded by Brazilian model maker Hugo:

Brinquedos mecânicos
http://brinquedosautomatos.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Modelos%20Mec%C3%A2nicos

 

PAPER AUTOMATA FOR SALE

Rob Ives
Website: https://www.robives.com/

Walter Ruffler
Website: http://www.walterruffler.de/index1.html
(Gallery of Paper Automata: http://www.walterruffler.de/Galerie/Gallery.html)

 

AUTOMATA BUILDERS

Linda van Breemen (DutchPaperGirl)
New website: http://dutchpapergirl.nl/
(Old Website: http://www.l.van.breemen.scarlet.nl/home/homnewengels.html)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/dutchpapergirl

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