Theodorus Gerardus Jozef Jansen (; born 14 March 1948) is a Dutch artist. In 1990, he began building large mechanisms out of PVC that are able to move on their own and, collectively, are titled ''Strandbeest'' (Dutch for 'beach beast'). The

kinetic sculpture Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or that depends on motion for its effects. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are ...

s appear to walk. His animated works are intended to be a fusion of

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

. He has said that "The walls between

and

exist only in our minds." Some of his creations are reported to incorporate primitive

logic gates A logic gate is a device that performs a Boolean function, a logical operation performed on one or more Binary number, binary inputs that produces a single binary output. Depending on the context, the term may refer to an ideal logic gate, one ...

for collision detection with obstacles such as the sea.

Early life

Jansen was born in

Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...

in the Netherlands. He grew up with a talent for both physics and art, and studied physics at the

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

. Jansen left the university in 1974 without a degree. While at Delft, Jansen was involved in many projects that involved both art and technology, including a paint machine and a flying-saucer machine.

Flying saucer

In 1979 Jansen started using cheap PVC pipes to build a -wide flying saucer that was filled with

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

. It was launched over Delft in 1980 on a day when the sky was hazy. Light and sound came from the saucer. Because the saucer was black against a light sky, its size was difficult to determine. The police even stated that it was 30 meters wide, and some people swore they saw a halo around it. Jansen has claimed that this project "caused a near-riot". He said that the machine was never found, and that it probably landed somewhere in Belgium. He later repeated the project over Paris.

Painting machine

Jansen's painting machine was developed in 1984–86 in Delft, and it was a somewhat larger project than his flying saucer. It consisted of a tube with a light cell situated at its end. When darkness was detected, the machine would begin to spray paint, creating painted silhouettes of people standing in front of it. This machine was also attached to a large piece of wood that was hoisted against a wall, where it would move back and forth to create 2-D images of everything in the room.

The ''strandbeest''

Since 1990, Jansen has been creating ''strandbeesten'' ( Dutch for "beach animals", singular ''strandbeest'' - see also English cognate ), which are moving kinetic structures, sometimes wind-propelled, that resemble walking animals, described by Jansen as artificial life. All of his models are based on a system of triangles and connecting links which convert the rotation of an axle into a stepping motion of six or more legs. This allows the strandbeesten to travel over sand much more efficiently than if it were to travel on wheels. What was at first a rudimentary "breed" has evolved slowly, with the help of

evolutionary computation Evolutionary computation from computer science is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the subfield of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms. In technical terms ...

techniques, into a generation of kinetic sculptures that can react to their environment to some degree. According to Jansen, he was inspired by ''

The Blind Watchmaker ''The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design'' is a 1986 book by Richard Dawkins, in which the author presents an explanation of, and argument for, the theory of evolution by means of natural selecti ...

'' by

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...

. Jansen has said "I make skeletons that are able to walk on the wind. Over time, these skeletons have become increasingly better at surviving the elements such as storms and water and eventually I want to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives." Constructed from PVC piping, wood, fabric airfoils, and zip ties, Jansen's sculptures are constantly being improved and are designed to function in the sandy beach environment in which Jansen releases them. The sculptures are also able to store

air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The Standard atmosphere (unit), standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , whi ...

in order to propel themselves in the absence of wind. Jansen's more sophisticated creations are able to detect when they have entered water and are then able to move away from it. One model is capable of anchoring itself to the earth if an approaching storm is sensed. A 2016 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', " The Nightmare After Krustmas", featured the strandbeesten and Jansen. He provided the voice for his cartoon character.

Evolutionary periods of ''Strandbeest''

* Volantum – Flying ''Strandbeest''s; 2020–2021 * Bruchum – Caterpillar ''Strandbeests''; 2016–2019 * Aurum – "Weak wind" ''Strandbeests''; 2013–2015 * Aspersorium – Tail-wagging ''Strandbeests''; 2012–2013 * Suicideem – "Suicidal" ''Strandbeests''; 2009–2011 * Cerebrum – Simple Brained ''Strandbeests''; 2006–2008 *Vaporum –

Pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek 'wind, breath') is the use of gas or pressurized air in mechanical systems. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located a ...

-powered ''Strandbeests''; 2001–2006 *Lignatum – Wood-based ''Strandbeests''; 1997–2001 *Tepideem –

Herd A herd is a social group of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with this is called '' herding''. These animals are known as gregarious animals. The term ''herd'' ...

''Strandbeests''; 1994–1997 *Calidum – "

Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in Bone fracture, fracture risk. It is the most common reason f ...

" ''Strandbeests''; 1993–1994 *Chorda – Cable-tie ''Strandbeests''; 1991–1993 *Gluton –

Adhesive tape Adhesive tape is one of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive. Several types of adhesives can be used. Types Pressure-sensitive tape Pressure-sensitive tape, PSA tape, self-stick tape or sticky tape consists of a pre ...

''Strandbeests''; 1990–1991 *Pregluton – Pre-''Strandbeests'', beginning of ideas and drawings; 1986–1989

Notes

References

External links

Strandbeest.com
– web site with video and photographs of the sculptures
Strandbeestmovie.com
– documentary film about Theo Jansen by Alexander Schlichter – the web site is a workbook with videos and pictures * *
"My creations, a new form of life" (TED2007)
*

* ttp://www.artfutura.org/02/05jansen_en.html Strandbeest: Theo Jansenfro
Art Futura
2005
Theo Janssen Machine in Mathcad
on PlanetPTC
12,419 Days Of Strandbeest Evolution
7 December 2024, overview of design development and interview with Theo Jansen {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Theo 1948 births Living people Dutch sculptors Dutch male sculptors Artists from The Hague