Audiokinetic sculpture (Ball Machine)
Combining the complex technology of the Industrial Age with the unique eye of an artist, George Rhoads creates unique interactive sculptures. This 1996 audiokinetic sculpture combines scientific principles of physics with art and music. By moving a ball from “here” to “there,” the viewer may study the intricate parts of the machine and clarify what appears impossibly complex. The noises the sculpture makes are sometimes challenging for some museum visitors with sensory sensitivities, but others appreciate the hands-on learning and stay for a long time!
George Rhoads explains the thought process that went into his design: “Each ball rolling is a different drama as I call it because the events happen in a certain sequence, analogous to drama. Maybe there’s some conflict, they hit or they wander, whatever it is. And then there’s some kind of dramatic conclusion. They bounce, or whatever it be, sometimes as an anticlimax. I’m always trying to achieve randomness in these pieces because mechanical motion is regular by its nature almost, a motor goes around in a set pattern and a set speed usually, so I introduce randomness in various ways. Semirandomness, it’s not true randomness, but I get as close as I can.”
