kinetic art

May 2024: Unfinished prototype of LifeFlow #1

As the first piece in the ChronoZen® series, LifeFlow #1 offers a visual exploration of life's meandering and random journey.

Colored liquid is elevated as the clock turns to spill across three surfaces representing phases of a human life with obstacles and barriers.  A single figure is along for the ride to tumble around until dropping back to the bottom.  As someone on the autism spectrum I've found life's ups-and-downs to be especially challenging, frustrating, and just not worth it at times.  This piece not only represents that continuous struggle but the process of creating it gave me a necessary mental creative outlet.  The LifeFlow performance leaves the audience peaceful and calm; I think we need more of this in our lives.

ChronoZenⓇ is a kinetic art platform I developed around a functional clock that can hang on the wall or sit on a shelf.  The clock case is a 12" sealed acrylic cylinder that sits on the base and continually turns, once-per-minute.  This rotating vessel becomes my canvas for kinetic art where fluid, objects, and lighting are arranged to give the viewer a performance with these three unique themes: "The beauty of motion", "Perpetual", and "Random".  With hidden features and functions, every moment is different.  

The clock is programmed to cycle through random light sequences and can be configured through 3 hidden touch sensors on the front edge.  An ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness for different times of day.  At the top of each hour the light performance pauses while a music box chime plays a custom tune I composed just for this piece.  Completely different behavior and messages are programmed as random Easter eggs to occur according to a timetable that can only be witnessed at that moment.  Some Easter eggs run once every hour, once a day, and some occur every 5 years.  ChronoZen isn't so much about the object as a piece of art; it's a unique experience for the audience at that moment in time and it may never occur again.  

Just like life.