U-Ram Choe's Mechanical Creations

[Col. Adrianna Hazard]

For those of you who don't read WIRED magazine, I thought I would pass on this delightful find. In the most recent issue, WIRED wrote an article about U-Ram Choe, a Korean artist who creates mechanical creatures - kinetic sculptures that light up and dance with ethereal beauty. He classifies and provides background stories for these abiotic lifeforms.

http://www.uram.net/

WIRED focused on his current creation which can be viewed in the portfolio section of his website, titled "4th solo", and introduced it by hypothesizing what it's function could be. And I quote: "Steampunk torture device?"

I would have to agree with the article in that the aesthetic is suitably steamy. Just the act of creating mechanical life forms and classifying them strikes me as delightfully steampunk.

[polyphemus]

Now if he could only come up with a website that actually loads...

[Anaesthesius]

Wonderful!  I like the 'abiotic lifeform' trend in sculpture, and I wonder if it will lead to robotic innovations that might leave the gallery and the lab to roam amongst us...  Of course it's steampunk - clockwork beasties pop up all the time in steampunk works.  These critters would be right at home with Theo Jansen's Strandbeests and the blubberbots.

[AE]

I am having problems viewing the site also   

[Story]

1. Try this link, for his website http://www.uram.net/eng/intro_en.html

and 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U0ZOkpjap0&feature=youtu.be

NEW YORK, October 26, 2011 — U-Ram Choe's mesmerizing animatronic sculpture, 'Guardian of the Hole' on view at Asia Society Museum in New York until December 31, 2011.