The Art Of Motion Control

The Stratograph:

The "stratograph" traces its beginings to a request for proposals for a traveling exhibit, being put together by the Science Museum of Minnesota and Redhill Studios, Sausalito. The exhibit, entitled "Playing With Time," is to include 50 components which address phenomena that are either too fast or slow for normal human perception, and will open in March, 2002. The Museum was seeking a kinetic sculpture that might fit within the "Earth Changes" section of the exhibit-- an area where examples of slowly formed natural materials (e.g. lake bottom and coral reef cores) are to be displayed.

After forming the idea, and demonstrating a small functional model, my proposal was accepted in May, 2001. In essence, it called for a large, clear tube to be slowly filled with colored sand, over the duration of the exhibit's stay (3-6 months) at each venue. The patterns of sand are to be both engaging visually, as well as a direct reminder that this sand "core" is a record of occurrences in time.

I am presently working on the full scale prototype, and evaluating possible schemes for sand pattern generation, and the potential for interactivity:

On March 16, 2002, Playing With Time opened at the Science Museum of Minnesota-- the completed Stratograph began to fill the first "official" tube of its 7 year journey...