Looking Outward – 03

Work Title: Momentum, 2008, Hollywood Hills

Artist: Matt McConnell

https://www.mattmcconnell.com/momentum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puuTwNM3-sI&t=49s

Designed by McConnell Studio are these interactive kinetic sculptures with sound elements embedded in them. The concept is to reflect the millipede’s motion of walking. When millipedes move, their legs move in a wave-like motion from back to forth. As the first pair of legs begin to go down, the second pair of legs are already coming up. I think this idea of biomimicry — taking what we observe in nature and making it become part of the art piece —is a valuable design process. Because the structure and form of the artwork are not decided randomly, it already has a clear algorithm methodology such as repetition, arraying, rotating, etc. Fundamental functions that can potentially generate these patterns include loops, mapping, and bezier curves. There is also sound incorporated into this artwork, which is probably caused by the movement of each curve. So each curve segment is given a pitch, and when the curve is in motion in a particular direction, the sound plays with a combination of different sound waves.