Fun is the universal language. Information is learned through visceral experience. Exploring ourselves through motion we face our joys and excitement as well as our fears and hesitation. Physical memories hold lakeside property in our conscience.
People powered sculptures engage the riders in active participation with the machines. Moving yourself through space on your own power is different than being moved by automated power. Automatic power, moves us too easily and quickly. We are abstracted from the organic nature of propelling ourselves. Acceleration happens without personality. People powered machines give the experience of taking our first steps. The process of propulsion is in the hands of the participant. The participant can experiment with the machine and respond to stimulus directly.
Participants move themselves through space by pushing bicycle pedals. Playful interaction with the machines results in an individual experience for the participant. Personalities are often revealed when participants act and react. Machines with multiple participants work together. The dynamic between participants further unfolds. The machines become personality amplifiers.
Sensory learning through motion is one of the most significant phases of our early development. Physical presence in our environment brings us close to how we develop. The excitement of motion reminds us of learning to move ourselves as we experience our environment for the first time.
The rides are a catalyst for social interaction. Potential participants are encouraged to monitor a line. I suggest that they keep track among themselves of who is next. Some of the machines require participants to be approximately the same weight. Would be participants are encouraged to explore the gathering of strangers to find someone of common size. Once they are in motion, participants are interacting with the machines and each other. Participants are the core of the sculptures. The machines offer an opportunity for people to animate them. Minds in motion are fuel for these poetic machines.