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Kinetics Engineer/Artist Arthur Ganson coming to Miami

Kinetic art that explores deep philosophical ideas and is gee-whiz fun to look at

ganson holding gearWorld renowned artist, engineer, inventor, sculpture, and musician, Arthur Ganson will give a public lecture at Miami on Thursday, May 3 at 8:30 p.m. in 102 Benton Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Ganson's talk, "Mixing High Art with Gearhead Humor" will provide background about his creations involving moving "kinetic" sculptures that blend art and engineering into "twittering machines" that explore existential themes.

Ganson has been a TED speaker and artist-in-residence at MIT. His creations have been displayed at art and science museums around the world.

"Arthur Ganson uses simple, plain materials to build witty mechanical art...His work examines the quiet drama of physical motion, whether driven by a motor or by the actions of the viewer. Notions of balance, of rising and falling, of action and reaction and consequence, play themselves out in wire and steel and plastic." “Ganson's work isn't ruled by a clockwork philosophy; it is open to whatever truths about life and motion his wires, motors, oil, and chains will lend themselves to. His pieces are not...scrupulous mechanical copies of living things, but are instead suggestive -- or, as Ganson puts it, 'gestural,' frequently grounded in biological and bodily processes but never limited to them.” — Harvey Blume, the Atlantic.

A modern-day creator of "twittering machines," Arthur Ganson uses simple, plain materials to build witty mechanical art. But the wit is not simply about Rube Goldberg-ian chain-reaction gags (though you'll find a few of those). His work examines the quiet drama of physical motion, whether driven by a motor or by the actions of the viewer. Notions of balance, of rising and falling, of action and reaction and consequence, play themselves out in wire and steel and plastic.

STEAM Events: The Art of Visualizing STEM 

The College of Creative Arts, the College of Engineering and Computing, the Office of Research for Undergraduates, and the Oxford community are partnering on a series of events on May 3-4 to promote STEAM.

STEAM utilizes problem solving by integrating visualization, art and design alongside traditional STEM instruction. The end result promotes and fosters design thinking, creativity and innovation to enhance the educational experience.

All events are free and open to the public.


Arthur Ganson's visit is funded by support from the College of Creative Arts, College of Engineering and Computing, and Late Night Miami. Late Night Miami logo

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