| Arthur Ganson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 Hartford, Connecticut |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Field | Kinetic art |
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Arthur Ganson is a renowned kinetic sculptor. Ganson makes mechanical art demonstrations and Rube Goldberg machines with existential themes. Ganson has held residencies in science museums, collaborated with the Studebaker Movement Theatre, and been featured in one-man shows at the MIT Museum, Harvard’s Carpenter Center, the DeCordova Museum, and the Ricco/Maresca Gallery in New York. He has a permanent installation at the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio. One of Ganson's kinetic sculptures is featured at the entrance to the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation located in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, on the National Mall in Washington DC.
In addition, Ganson has given invited presentations about his work at the TED conference, and at the Long Now Foundation.
Ganson was an artist-in-residence at the Mechanical Engineering department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and some of his work has been on permanent display since 1995 in the Gestural Engineering exhibit[1] at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Ganson was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1955. He has an older sister, Ellen Ford and a younger brother, Richard Ganson. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1978.[2]
Ganson describes his work as a cross between mechanical engineering and choreography.[1] Some of his extremely elaborate machines have one very simple function, such as oiling themselves or causing a chair to bounce around a toy cat, while others do nothing at all, but in a visually fascinating manner.
Though some critics read deeply philosophical meaning into these works, the machines also exhibit a childlike, playful side. One of his constructions, a set of wire gears tethered to a wishbone, appeared in an episode of the animated children's series Arthur, where it was compared to "the tragicomic works of Samuel Beckett - a tiny figure forever yoked to its burden of absurdity."[3]
In addition to his artistic productions, Ganson is also the inventor of Toobers & Zots, a commercial toy-set consisting of bendable foam pieces in abstract shapes that can be assembled into almost anything. He has also been involved in other toy designs.
Since around 1997, Ganson has been the emcee of the annual "Friday After Thanksgiving" (FAT) competition sponsored by the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Teams of contestants construct elaborate Rube Goldberg style chain-reaction machines on tables arranged around a large gymnasium. Each apparatus is linked by a string to its predecessor and successor machine. The initial string is ceremonially pulled, and the ensuing events are videotaped in closeup, and simultaneously projected on large screens for viewing by the live audience. After the entire cascade of events has finished, prizes are then awarded in various categories and age levels. Videos from several previous years' contests are viewable on the MIT Museum website.[4]