We have been mildly obsessed with the building of a drawing machine lately. The low-tech machine that produced these drawings is hand crank operated. The crank activates three other gears that control the left and right movement of the drawing arm as well as reach of the arm. The end product is a dynamic and spatial geometry that from afar reads as machine or computer animated drawing, but upon closer inspection reveals defects and 'squiggles' reminiscent of a free-hand drawing.
This duality is an important quality of the work we have been pursuing. Engineered machines are traditionally created to return functional needs, and rely on methods of manifest order, logical development, coherence through consistency and efficiency. In other words, machines traditionally pursue perfection. We wanted to create a drawing machine that made little messes and produced little defects. We believe the beauty of these drawings lies in their imperfections, a very human quality.
