Looking for some kick-ass art for your home or office? Don’t want to settle for anything as boring as a flat, stationary two-dimensional print for the wall? If so – and if you’re also a bit of a science or tech geek with some cash to splash around — you may be the perfect candidate to enjoy an astonishing creation by former automotive engineer Robert Spillner.
Called the Art Machine, the Germany-based engineer’s stunning work of “kinetic art” is a constantly shifting image that looks like some continuously swirling galaxy or turbulent weather formation, as viewed through a 37-inch-diameter ship’s porthole.
“I wanted to invent a machine which can paint continuous images, but is not a video,” Spillner told Digital Trends. “I can’t say it shorter [than that]. The idea came up to use very small colored particles as picture elements and to set them in motion.”
The artwork employs an aerospace industry dye and some particles that result in a fluid that never completely mixes. The swirling fluid is rotated at frequent intervals by twin electric motors, which help stir up the striking patches of light and dark in the piece. “After a predetermined period of time, the rotational movement is interrupted so that the particles settle to the bottom and the movement of the dye subsides,” Spillner said. “[As a result], the previously introduced [formation] is dissolved. Then the Art Machine is restarted and the process starts again.”
We’ve covered a few kinetic art pieces here at Digital Trends, such as this amazing coffee table featuring a tiny robot making shapes in sand, and a robot-controlled table that lets viewers manipulate liquid rocket fuel with their face. While all three projects are very different in terms of content, Spillner’s creation certainly ranks up there with either in terms of its sheer “wow” factor.
All this comes with a price tag, however. According to this listing on Saatchi Art, would-be customers will have to pay some $6,250 to add the Art Machine to their collection. While that may be a bit too rich for some readers’ blood, we certainly don’t begrudge the person fortunate enough to add this to their collection.
