Aesthetic engineering

Roxy Paine is concerned with beauty and the appreciation of beauty, in things which are often not necessarily considered beautiful. The principles underlying and guiding his work are expressed through the use of robotics, computers, and inorganic materials simulating and masquerading as nature.

Erosion Machine (2005), for instance, uses weather, shoe-size, and stock market data-sets to control the movement of a robotic arm as it sandblasts a slab of sandstone to create a miniature Southwestern landscape.

Weed Choked Garden (2005) uses stainless steel, thermoset plastic, and more to immortalize both natural process and neglect, as 13 species of weeds take over an untended vegetable garden in 88 sq ft of meticulously created chaos.

Split (2003), seen here being reconstructed on its new site, The Olympic Sculpture Park, is a hyper-real artificial tree manufactured from steel pipes and tubes of many diameters. It germinated from Paine's detailed analysis of the structure of trees, and grew from computer diagrams architectural renderings. Transplanted, along with Aspen, Ash, and Dogwood trees, Split will share carefully engineered space in a realm of art and nature, creating tension between, and testing our perception of each.

More on Roxy: AI interview |  SourceCode interview (video) | More trees: Breach | Bluff

Comments

[The County Clerk]

Whoa... I'm stunned at what I see and then stymied by what I read! Amazing!

Great information... though I must say that "Weed Choked Garden" is going to keep me awake at night. You should tag this post as "POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE AND DANGEROUS" or at least "FRIGHTENING AS HELL."

Please take closer photos of SPLIT when it is in... I'd love to better see the split. I imagine the polished aluminum (or whatever) will reflect the ever-changing Seattle light in very interesting ways. Can't wait to see it in person.

[Mr Tim "Stainless Steel Pipe Fittings"]

This is just a great example of steel pipes combining with art. The best ones I have seen are a little more expensive as they use stainless steel pipes to stop errision and rusting.