Kinetic Art, and our 1864 Flying Spy Automata

One of Av’s professors from high school opened a rare and first edition bookstore a few years ago, and inside amongst all the books, he featured a couple of kinetic sculptures on the walls. They really fascinated me, because I’d never seen anything like them – they were beautiful and calming and….just one of those things to just hang around to watch for a while.

The artist – David C. Roy – who made those pieces, has his website here.

(updated with a new video:)

I also really like Tom Haney’s artwork – he makes these really original pieces that move or dance with pushes of a simple lever. I’ve seen him at a few shows, and he’s always really good about showing everyone how everything works, etc. Very nice. He’s going to be at Kentuck later this year.

A company in the UK sells these very simple kits to make animated pieces from paper – some of them are *so* cute!

About four years ago, Av and I purchased this piece from Bud and Suzi Richards (from Springville, AL) at the Bluff Park Art Show. It represents a 1864 report that Bud found about a spying soldier during the War who was wearing a flying contraption. It was the first automata piece they’d made, and we didn’t waste any time getting it.
1864 Flying Spy Automata

 

 

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