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Andrew Carson Artist, Kinetic Sculptor

Andrew Carson is an artist that specializes in kinetic sculpture. In 1974, as a young boy, he became fascinated with the 100 m.p.h Chinnoks of Boulder, Colorado. He began hand building electronics to measure the devastating blasts of weather.

Through his teen years he studied the experimental turbines of the Rockwell wind energy test site near his home, building different pieces of art inspired by the unusual and functional windmills. All his engineering and fabrication skills came from repairing broken bicycle frames at the bicycle store he worked at from junior high through college.

He graduated in 1986 from University of Washington with a BFA in photography.

A big influence for him was the elegance of the static 1994 weathervanes of James Eaton who proved that industrial processes and interchangeable components could be wonderfully artistic.

Today, his work is installed in nearly all 50 states and beyond.

"What exactly is interactive art? How do I blend mechanics and aesthetics? What do I convey through my kinetic sculptures? These are the questions I have pondered throughout my career as an artist. I create my sculpture to interact with people and solve riddles of landscape both interior and exterior. Using a varied palette—electronics, illustration, the camera and mechanical systems I work very hard for elegant solutions for demanding problems of space. It is not always easy to blend functionality with form. Only a few of the kinetic sculptures I dream are ever realized."

-Andrew Carson

Each design starts as a rough sketch on paper. From there he works methodically: sizing parts, figuring the mechanics, perfecting the rotation, developing the prototypes. When the design is done, he prints the final drawings at full scale. Then he engineers and makes the parts with the combination of industrial processes and hand working. This includes every piece, including the pillars, metal elements, glass cups, hubs and transitions. There are no “found” parts in my work.