I was part of a sixteen-person Kinetic Sculpture class under the guidance of sculptors Bernie Lubell and Terry Berlier in Spring 2013. Stanford Arts Institute generously funded the class and we were invited to install our sculpture in the San Francisco Exploratorium. Over ten weeks, the class dreamed up expressions, built mechanisms, and ultimately converged on the enormous kinetic sculpture, “Create-Erase Loop.” I was critical to quickly build working prototypes, develop metaphorical connections between mechanical components, and effectively visualize ideas on paper and in wood.
The finished sculpture was powered by two people to lift steel balls and drop them through a series of mechanisms in an automatic loop. We dubbed it "Create-Erase Loop" as a commentary on the net-zero gain of the lift-drop cycle.
Human-powered collaboration is central to Bernie’s work, so we began the process by creating power mechanisms. Along with Maryam Zahedi, I built a wooden bike. We decided to design an unconventional bike that asks its rider to reconsider the definition of a bike. In this model, the rider lays down to peddle, her hands gripping the mechanism. She is exposed and vulnerable, but must peddle to watch the mechanisms she drives above her.
The finished sculpture was powered by two people to lift steel balls and drop them through a series of mechanisms in an automatic loop. We dubbed it "Create-Erase Loop" as a commentary on the net-zero gain of the lift-drop cycle.
Human-powered collaboration is central to Bernie’s work, so we began the process by creating power mechanisms. Along with Maryam Zahedi, I built a wooden bike. We decided to design an unconventional bike that asks its rider to reconsider the definition of a bike. In this model, the rider lays down to peddle, her hands gripping the mechanism. She is exposed and vulnerable, but must peddle to watch the mechanisms she drives above her.
Our class’s final sculpture used steel balls within a wooden Rube Goldberg sculpture. We designed and built many components, but often discovered that component’s intended function would not be its end function. For example, I developed a right angle-drive to sweep balls across a latex trampoline. In the final piece, the right-angle drive was used to redirect pulleys, and the trampoline’s motion was operated by a scotch yoke.
The right-angle drive in the final assembly
Create-Erase Loop was a testament of our teamwork, perseverance, and development of a space between art and engineering.
The Kinetic Sculpture class
Assembly: the last push
Operating the completed sculpture