![]() In diversifying access to her research, Alex honed a unique set of skills to plan, design and produce events for a wide variety of audiences. To address this gap, she extends her empirical research through multiple mediums including: publications, formal lectures, public speaking events, radio, theatre and photography. During her degrees, Alex recognized a dearth of knowledge transfer between the academy and the general public. ![]() The beauty and art of motion defines the Machine’s purpose as it visualizes movement in an aesthetically pleasing way and blurs the lines between science, technology and art.Īlex is a critical scholar and social scientist. He has even taken his work into classrooms to educate children and teenagers about the importance of motion control in their everyday lives as it shapes their worlds. Drawing from Computer Science, Physics and Engineering, Shapiro’s works are a staple in many science museums and even corporate offices and homes. Sisyphus III (created in 2003) was 10 feet in diameter and weighed nearly half a metric ton. Several of the Sisyphus Machines are in permanent and travelling locations around the world, including Germany, Australia and Poland. Since then I have devoted myself to using motion control for making art and education tools.” ![]() My first attempt to share my “mastery” over this rapidly evolving industrial technology, was a fiasco: I assembled 10-20 family members, friends, and pets into my basement shop, and made them watch two stepper motors sitting on a table, faithfully rotating “flags” of tape stuck to their shafts.ĮggBot (1990), my first art robot, was created out of necessity (to convince others I wasn’t completely losing my mind). My childhood interests in building were rekindled when I first brought home a 286 computer and discovered I could use it to control motors from discarded floppy drives. I pursued a career in medicine and spent several years as a practicing physician. “I grew up enchanted by music, electronics, and making things. Shapiro’s artistic statement explains his methodology behind the Sisyphus Machine: Computer programs control the patterns carved through the plate, creating stunning patterns, intricate loops and swirls all a meditative speed. For all eternity.” Using polar coordinates to create patterns, the Sisyphus machines are xy-coordinate devices using magnets and motorized arms to move metal balls precisely over a garden of sand. He says: “for the crime of cheating death, Sisyphus must push his boulder up the mountain only to have it roll back down each day. Shapiro explains that the Sisyphus Machine’s movements are inspired by the famous Greek myth. As an artist, he combines several applications, such as robotics and computerized numerical control (CNC), to be used for kinetic artistic expression. A former physician turned artist, Shapiro engineered the table-top Sisyphus Machine a scientific display that illustrates controlled movements right before audiences’ eyes. Bruce Shapiro is the master of motion control.
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