Motion has long excited the human imagination. As creatures dependent on physically moving to survive as well as our inner moving parts, we are understandably transfixed by things that move. Movement in art is no exception. Kinetic art provides us the with energy of movement in what was once a largely stationary form of expression. The roots of kinetic art are deeply ingrained in 19th and 20th century thought, and they are further propagated in 21st century kinetic wind art.
The Rise of Movement in Art
The famous impressionist Claude Monet was one of the first major artists to purposefully try to incorporate movement in his two-dimensional paintings. He believed that we could get closer to the human experience by giving viewers a sense of movement as they enjoyed paintings. One notable example is his 1862 work, Le Ballet Espagnol. In this painting, two sets of dancing couples are performing under the gaze of onlookers and musicians.
Upon close examination, literally everything in the painting has been caught in the middle of a movement. The two primary dancers, with their centers of gravity tilted to the back, are in the process of performing a move familiar to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of ballet. The viewer thus inadvertently is completing the move in his mind the moment he sees their pose. The two dancers observing also seem to be actively involved even though they’re just watching. Even the light is moving because it is supplied by a small fire in the foreground.
Even though Monet was able to give us all of this movement, kinetic wind art brings it to the next level.
Kinetic Wind Art Continues the Tradition
As the art of the 19th century reflected the kinetic energy of the Industrial Revolution, kinetic wind art today brings us in touch with the cycles of nature and our place in the interaction between people and our surroundings. As the wind moves the art, our eyes and ears and selves move along with it. When we install and then observe kinetic wind art, we are taking an active step towards listening to nature as well as humbly contributing to the conversation.
If you’d like to get in on the conversation, you can purchase kinetic wind art crafted by Mark White. You can peruse his collection or drop a line at 000-000-0000.
