Wonders of the Millennial World 9: A New Year's Walk on the Beach

Image Source: Boston Magazine.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2018. Today, see the creations of Dutch artist Theo Jansen who "demonstrates the amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures he builds from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His creatures are designed to move -- and even survive -- on their own." (Hat tip: The Outer Light.)

Car commercial: BMW (South Africa). Defining innovation (15 August 2006). Video Source: Youtube.

Jansen creates skeletons which walk by means of wind- and solar power. His latest creation in 2017 was called Strandbeest, or 'Beach Beast.' TEDx explains that Jansen tries to invest his creations with primitive intelligence so that they can act autonomously in their own rudimentary self-interest:

"[The artist] builds large works which resemble skeletons of animals that are able to walk using the wind on the beaches of the Netherlands. His animated works are a fusion of art and engineering; in a car company television commercial Jansen says: 'The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds.' He strives at equipping his creations with their own intelligence to manage avoiding obstacles, by changing their course when one is detected, such as the sea itself."

Image Source: Web Urbanist.

My creations, a new form of life | Theo Jansen (6 September 2007). Video Source: Youtube.

Theo Jansen’s Wind-Powered Sculptures (21 September 2011). Video Source: Youtube.

A new breed of beach animals | Theo Jansen | TEDxDelft (26 November 2011). Video Source: Youtube.

mahler 3 (20 December 2015). Video Source: Youtube.

STRANDBEEST EVOLUTION 2017 (7 June 2017). Video Source: Youtube.

See all my posts on Wonders in the Millennial World.