Poetry in motion. “She blinded me with science.” And I’m about to dazzle you with distraction. Yeah, I figure I can mix the magic, media, and metaphors and still be back at the kitchen table in time for breakfast. Kids, don’t try this at home. Now, let’s dive into the wonderful world of kinetic art.
First, what’s so great about kinetic art?
Well, here’s a description I found to help understand what it is: “Broadly, any piece of art that revolves around a fascination with movement can be considered Kinetic art. Kinetic artists offer us an artistic expression of the growing modern age with its technological intersections and philosophies. Kinetic artists explored art that could extend into both space and time and artworks that morphed with viewer interaction. Mechanized sculptures that change their appearance over a cycle of time seem to capture the fast-paced evolution of the modern age.”
Sounds simple enough. Right? (I’m seriously tongue-in-cheek right now)
Yeah, the so-called “art world aficionados” love to pontificate. But the gist of what that paragraph said is this. People love to watch things move. So, when artists incorporate motion into their works, people tend to love the added dimension. Seems reasonable to me.
I watched a guy give a Pop Tech Talk about his creations. And even though he was from California and spoke like a guy who had a close relationship with cannabis, his art was mesmerizing.
But that’s how design and motion are. Mesmerizing.
And when you capture motion with raw materials, it can be magical.
The Pop Tech Talk guy I watched used wood and string. And lights. And metal tubing. He said he never attended art school. But he did go to a couple of painting schools in Italy. He mentioned some of his memorable experiences there and at another art class in Russia. And when he got to the Russian part, he shared how the world is made up of two perspectives.
First, there’s the beauty side. Dawns and dusks. Sparkling lights. Rainbows and butterflies. But then, he said, there’s this “sort of structured” side. And he said he wasn’t sure if the structure is about waves and sines. But he was certain of the structure. Just not what to do with it other than “try to reach out and touch it. Or let it touch you.”
Of course, there’s another thing you can do with it.
Appreciate the complexity of design. And then appreciate how important it is for complex design to have a designer. And because that’s true for wood and string and lights and metal tubing, it’s even way more important for you and me. Because you and I are kinetic, eternal beings. We’ll exist forever.
I’ve been fascinated by kinetic and potential energy since I first learned about them in my high school science class. And I’ve understood, for most of my life, that those forces didn’t come from nowhere and nothing. So, naturally (and maybe even a little bit supernaturally) I decided to write and sing about ’em.
Kinetic Love
I got dreams like the sand on the shore.
And I got plans formulating inside.
I got hopes just waiting for an open door.
And I got a system true and tried.
I got a force deeper than a heartbeat.
And I got a strength more potent than a storm.
I got a love that’s music for my dancing feet.
And I got a place that’s always warm
I got kinetic love…I got potential love.
And there’s a kingdom come waiting down the line.
I got a lavish love…and I got a simple love.
And I gotta share this love ‘cause it ain’t just mine.
I got songs married to my mind.
And I got art no one else can see.
I got roads just waiting to be driven down.
I got a Truth that sets me free.
I got a gold you can’t measure on earth.
And I got jewels in the sparkling dew.
I got a wealth that doesn’t have a mortal worth.
And The Living God who gets me through.
© 1990 Tony Funderburk
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