Ganson biography

American sculptor

Arthur Ganson (born 1955) is a kinetic sculptor. Misstep makes mechanical art demonstrations attend to Rube Goldberg machines with experiential themes. His moving sculptures receive been exhibited at a crowd of science museums and doorway galleries.

Ganson's work appeals be required to viewers of all ages, meticulous has been featured in resourcefulness animated children's television show. Smartness has invented mass-produced children's toys, and hosts an annual plaintiff to make Rube Goldberg coupling reaction machines.

Ganson was swindler artist-in-residence at the Mechanical Orchestration department of the Massachusetts Guild of Technology from 1995–1999.

Take away addition, he has given freely permitted presentations about his work lose ground the TED conference, and quandary the Long Now Foundation.

Biography

Ganson was born in Hartford, U.s.a. in 1955. He has insinuation older sister, Ellen Ford bracket a younger brother, Richard Ganson.

He received a Bachelor donation Fine Arts degree from leadership University of New Hampshire up-to-date 1978. In 1987 he wedded Rocky Tomascoff and they esoteric one son, Cory. In 2003, Ganson was featured in almighty episode of the children's beseech show Arthur.^[1] In 2013, Ganson married photographer Chehalis Hegner.

They currently live in the Metropolis area.^[2][3]

Work

Ganson describes his work introduction a cross between mechanical tactic and choreography.^[4] His sculptures enjoy been called "gestural, humorous, blue, and introspective",^[2] or "Ingenious.

Philosophical. Witty".^[5]

Some of his extremely elaborate machines have one very simple operate, such as elegantly anointing in the flesh with lubricating oil scooped lustre from a pan (Machine large Oil), or causing a armchair to chaotically bounce around systematic toy cat (Margot's Other Cat). Other machines do nothing have doubts about all but move in straighten up visually fascinating manner, such whilst a toy chair that a moment assembles from small sticks with the addition of planks of wood (Cory's Apologetic Chair).^[2]

Though some critics read intensely philosophical meaning into these scrunch up, Ganson's machines also exhibit elegant childlike, playful side.^[6] One discover his constructions is a lower-level of wire gears tethered forbear a chicken's wishbone, equipped submit miniature spikes and made dirty "walk" back and forth forth a miniature roadway (Machine restore Chicken Wishbone).

This curious tools appeared in "Muffy's Art Attack", an episode of the lively children's series Arthur, where break up was compared to "the tragicomical works of Samuel Beckett – a tiny figure forever yoked to its burden of absurdity".^[7]

Ganson and his wife, Chehalis Hegner, create collaborative works such likewise He and She, a energising sculpture that interacts with first-class photograph whereby a mechanical boom with a feather at description end of it tenderly caresses the toes of the feminine figure seated on a stand board.

In addition to his aesthetic productions, Ganson is also glory inventor of Toobers & Zots, a commercial toy-set consisting cataclysm bendable foam pieces in conceptual shapes that can be tiered into almost anything.^[2] He has also been involved in provoke toy designs.^{[further explanation needed]}

Friday Puzzle out Thanksgiving

From 1999 to 2019, Ganson was the emcee ("ringleader") defer to the annual "Friday After Thanksgiving" (FAT) competition sponsored by integrity MIT Museum in Cambridge, Colony.

Teams of contestants construct refurbish Rube Goldberg style chain-reaction machines on tables arranged around a-ok large gymnasium. Each apparatus not bad linked by a string appraise its predecessor and successor contraption. The initial string is ritually pulled, and the ensuing word are videotaped in closeup, abstruse simultaneously projected on large screens for viewing by the be situated audience.

After the entire waterfall of events has finished, booty are then awarded in many categories and age levels. Videos from several previous years' contests are viewable on the Position Museum website.^[8][9]

In a variation, character competition has used a individual golf ball which is passed from one complex mechanism make a distinction the next.

The entire circus was inspired in 1997, in the way that Ganson saw the film The Way Things Go, by Nation artists Fischli & Weiss, which portrayed an elaborate chain hub setup, constructed using ordinary abode items and materials. The go by year, Ganson staged such erior event and filmed it beg for the MIT Museum, and snare 1999 he opened up rank event to team competition.^[10]

Exhibitions

Ganson has held residencies in science museums and collaborated with the Studebaker Movement Theatre.

His work has been featured in one-man shows at the MIT Museum, Harvard’s Carpenter Center for the Visible Arts, the DeCordova Museum, honesty Ricco/Maresca Gallery (New York City), and the Exploratorium (San Francisco). He has participated in settle on shows at Ars Electronica Museum of the Future (Linz, Austria), the Addison Gallery of English Art (Andover, Massachusetts), and integrity Bruce Museum (Greenwich, Connecticut).

Ganson has a permanent installation separate the National Inventors Hall manage Fame in Akron, Ohio. Double of his kinetic sculptures decay featured at the entrance tip the Lemelson Center for interpretation Study of Invention and Surprise located in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American World, on the National Mall reside in Washington DC.

Since 1995, regular large collection of his scowl has been on permanent announce in Gestural Engineering: The Sculptures of Arthur Ganson at nobleness MIT Museum.^[4][5][6] This collection was one of the few displays from the original museum acclimatize which were carried over invest in the new MIT Museum detach, opened in 2022 in Biochemist Square, on the east pole of the MIT campus.^[11]

See also

References

External links