For this assignment I chose to focus on the marble machine made by Wintergatan. This project is extremely famous on YouTube, but I think it really perfectly fits the model of a combined machine and human performance. The machine is powered by the performer, and each sub-instrument of the machine can be enabled/disabled by the performer, but with the exception of the bass, the instrument essentially plays itself. At one section in the video, the performer pauses the performance and manually plays the instruments, further demonstrating the adjustable autonomy of the machine.
I think that the incredibly mechanical nature of the machine combined with the human performer and the fact that it is orchestrated by the performer while still retaining some amount of autonomy can inform our design processes for hybrid kinetic sculptures.
I think that the majority of the machine is apparent to the audience, so I am not sure if there is an aspect of the device that isn’t immediately apparent. If I had to choose something I would just say the incredibly hand-made look of the entire machine and how it is apparent that this is a machine made by the performer which I think is incredibly interesting.
I am not sure if there are related works besides the new version of machine that Wintergatan is now working on.