News Releases: Iowa State University

QUICK LINKS
Today's News
News releases
ISU homepage

NEWS RELEASE

10-24-03

Contacts:
Heather Sauer, College of Design Communications, (515) 294-9289
Teddi Barron, News Service, (515) 294-4778

ISU COLLEGE OF DESIGN PRESENTS TALKS BY TWO KINETIC SCULPTORS OCT. 29 AND 30

AMES, Iowa -- Two renowned kinetic artists will share their ideas on materials innovation in sculpture during upcoming lectures in the College of Design.

Sculptor Ned Kahn's presentation and video, "Turbulent Landscapes," will be on Wednesday, Oct. 29; kinetic artist Arthur Ganson's talk, "A Personal Exploration of Engineering," will be Thursday, Oct. 30. Both presentations will be at 7 p.m. in Kocimski Auditorium, 101 Design. They are free and open to the public. Information on each artist is provided below.

Ned Kahn
California artist Ned Kahn (http://www.nedkahn.com) creates interactive sculptures that are inspired by fluid dynamics and created using simple materials such as water, sand and air. Many of his works reveal the way patterns can emerge when things flow. His outdoor artworks respond to forces in their environment, and the movement of wind, water or light activates much of his recent work.

Kahn worked at San Francisco's Exploratorium for 15 years, creating 30 artworks that are on permanent display at the museum. Versions of these artworks also have been installed in science museums and public art venues throughout the world.

Kahn has created public art commissions for the Yahoo Headquarters, Sunnyvale, Calif.; Expo 2000, Hanover, Germany; The American Museum of Natural History, New York; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Boulder, Colo.; and the United Terminal, San Francisco International Airport. His work has been exhibited in museums throughout the United States, and in Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

Kahn has received two sculpture fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Artweek and New Scientist.

Kahn's lecture is co-sponsored by the College of Design, the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities and the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences.

Arthur Ganson
Kinetic sculptor Arthur Ganson (http://www.arthurganson.com), Stoneham, Mass., says he is a cross between a mechanical engineer and a choreographer. He has been creating mechanical sculpture--often described as whimsical--for more than 20 years.

A former artist-in-residence at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Ganson has had solo exhibits at museums in New York, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Ganson and his moving sculptures have been featured in Smithsonian magazine, New York Times Magazine and Forbes magazine. He is the inventor of the award-winning children's toy Toobers and Zots, and is a founding partner in the company HandsOnToys.

Ganson has received the Osher Fellowship at The Exploratorium, San Franciso, and the Risorgimento Award from Destination Imagination.

Two pieces of Ganson's work, "Margot's Other Cat" and "Madeline's Fragile Machine," will be on display in the office of the dean, 134 Design, Oct. 30 through Nov. 30.

Ganson's lecture is co-sponsored by the Colleges of Design and Engineering.

Both lectures are part of the College of Design's Silver Anniversary celebration, which features notable speakers and special exhibitions throughout the year. Information on upcoming events is available at http://www.design.iastate.edu, then click on 25th Anniversary.

-30-