An ancient novel work of art

A view on a creative thought process

(Step 1)
While looking at the Weekend Knack (belgian magazine), this morning, at breakfast, I saw this picture, an advertisement for a company, and its rather beautiful. A geese flying above what looks like a wooden floor. And the picture remembered me of somethimg I had seen before, that bore little or no resemblance to this picture, except in one area. The picture on a Revell model kit, of a model plane floating above the surface. In both pictures an object was floating above a surface.

(Step 2)
And I thought, why not do the same to a statue of a geese. Put magnets in it, so that it floats above the surface. This is nothing new, this behaviour of magnets has been described before, and there are several apliances in existence that use this behaviour.

(Step 3)
Then I thought further, and perhaps that bronze statues are to heavy, they would require powerful magnets, which might make it more expensive. But then I thought of an artist, whose work I admire, and who has several bird and bird like models that are light enought to do this with.
His name is Brad Story. (http://www.bradstory.com/index.html) His existing work of art, and perhaps future work of art, are light enough to do this with. Then I also thought of Panamarenko (http://www.panamarenko.info/home.php), and he might also have some existing desings and perhaps future works of art, where this could be used.
Both have uniqe works of art, and both use multiple skills to build and imagine them.

Current statues stand. But what if a 'statue' of a fyling geese, or other bird, insect, or even fish, e.g. catfish (Lucia Rapp Py-Daniel, she's an expert on Catfish, see the interview in the last new scientist) would be addapted and build light enough to use the magnets with. This could allow to have a indoor 'statue', of a group of birds, perhaps a group of fish, that float over the surface. That hangs in mid air, without anything attached to it.

(Step 4)
Taken a step further, electronics could be added, so that instead of a motion less 'statue', the 'statue' also has motion. Wings, claws, etc. E.g. the Pico-Java chip from Sun; kits and parts of
(http://www.lynxmotion.com/usr.htm) ; new interfaces ( http://www.sensitive-object.com/) batteries and solarcells could al be used.

(Step 5)
Taken still a step further, I can imagine a space, where in the floor there are several magnets, so that there is no single space where there is not a magnet, and where there is not the effect that the magnets give. Then with the example of fish, the tank could be filled with water, and the fish in it. If there would be then electronics inside the fish, and the fish would be heavy enough, then it could give the idea of fish swimming in the water. The motion of a fish tail has and is as far as I'm aware of it still the subject of scientific and engineering research. So adding it to this 'statue' should not pose to much of a difficulty.

Article Author: Floris Vermeir

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