Metal That Moves: father and son kinetic sculptors

Carl Zachmann

"I am from West Central Minnesota where as a child I frequented museums, both historic and artistic, and spent my spare time taking stuff apart to see how it worked. I visited abandoned farmsteads and dug through scrap yards, and would often return home with forgotten treasures, beginning a collection of artifacts that would later influence my academic and artistic work. I merged my passions for history, industry, and the arts together through the creation of my machine art. My kinetic sculptures explore the designs and textures of America’s industrial past. Using my background in archaeological research and my knowledge of historical mechanisms, I studied old archives and drafting books to learn how to recreate many of the curved spokes and odd shaped gears made from before the Civil War to the early 1900s. The steel gears are put in motion and accented with period technical drawings, paying homage to the Industrial Revolution in an increasingly electronic world."

Jeffrey Zachmann

"Join me in my childhood. Adults go through life with a lot of weight on their shoulders. These sculptures remove that weight, at least for a while. With a blend of old and new materials, physics and art, my work is a reflection of my childhood, and some say, childlike curiosities. You will find them infectious. Watching the viewer, this transformation is apparent. As children, people are more at ease, adult tensions drop away, they are more open to laugh, point, and talk with strangers. After watching the sculpture for a while, stand back and watch the people near you. Wanna come out and play?"

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website