Theo Jansen is a renaissance artist. He is engineer and artist and artist and engineer. His mind works much like Da Vinci's did. He is a man of creation and invention. He thinks for himself of what could be, not what others say is possible. If we frame our references by the nay sayers and doubters of this world, no matter how innocent they may be, we will never challenge the status quo and be limited to a small sample of ideas and inventions. It is one way the arts strengthen education and thinking skills. My Mother was a science teacher. I can remember when I learned the theory of scientific exploration. I was in middle school. I was so excited, I memorized it immediately. It seemed so simple, so practical, but allowed for such freedom of discovery and exploration. Later when I studied the arts and realized what the artist process was, it occurred to me there was little difference. Science and art were related if not partnered. Theo Jansens' work also reminds me of Sandy Calders' work, he too was an engineer artist. His movable circus in Paris led to his giant mobiles that we best know him for now. His mind was child like, but intelligent and creative. He let his mind go, frolic and unhampered it created amazing things. I think when we cannot let ourselves think out of the box and when we have to consider others opinions of what can and can not be....we limit ourselves and therefore what we create.
Theo Jansens Machines
Alexander Calder's Circus
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