This week’s selection is the animated “Resistance” bird wing print by artist Ryan Buyssens.
Florida-based Buyssens is an assistant professor in Sculpture, but also uses 3D printing technology to create incredible animated sculptures, including this work, “Resistance”. It’s simply a set of bird wings that move when someone is sufficiently close to the proximity sensor.
The beauty of this piece is the sweeping, highly-realistic motion generated by its mechanical design. Buyssens studied the mechanics of flight for a considerable time, examining the timing of wing bends, folds and rotations. Designing the mechanics required two years of effort.
This work is not something you can appreciate by looking at a still image; you must see it in motion. Buyssens describes the motion as “playful and also repulsive and attractive. It has visually pleasant motion but cold robotic parts.” You can decide whether you agree by watching our short video, which includes some comments from the artist:
As you might imagine, the work is not entirely 3D printed. The electronics (hidden Arduino, sensors), carbon fiber rods and paper feathers are not, but the rest of Resistance is. The inspiration behind Resistance is Buyssens’ fascination with aerospace, which follows into the work due to the inclusion of several aerospace-grade materials.
Buyssens has produced ten copies of Resistance, and has exhibited them at several events. The artist plans to exhibit them in upcoming gallery events and Makerfaires, and can even make some on commission if you’d like to buy a set – and we hear that one Fortune 500 company has indeed purchased a set for their internal use.
Via SystemsFail
