''Archimedean Excogitation'' is a 1987 audiokinetic
rolling ball sculpture
A rolling ball sculpture (sometimes referred to as a marble run, ball run, gravitram, ''kugelbahn'' (German: 'ball track'), or rolling ball machine) is a form of kinetic art – an art form that contains moving pieces – that specifica ...
by
George Rhoads
George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical Rolling ball sculpture, audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science muse ...
. It is located in the atrium of the
Museum of Science in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.
Description
''Archimedean
Excogitation'' consists of a metal and glass display case framing a system of nine tracks on two main levels.
The lower level tracks contain
billiard ball
A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball pro ...
s, which encounter a series of mechanical obstacles as they roll, some of which (such as a
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
and
xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...
) produce noise.
The upper level tracks contain larger
duckpin bowling balls,
which push
windmill blade
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different forms, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.
Jib sails
The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound r ...
s and encounter similar obstacles.
In total, the sculpture has slightly fewer than 30 moving or sound-producing components,
and is tall.
Construction
''Archimedean Excogitation'' was
commissioned for the
Museum of Science in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, with a budget of $536,100.
It was designed by
George Rhoads
George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical Rolling ball sculpture, audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science muse ...
, with assistance from Rock Stream Studios, and was installed in 1987.
In 2015, the sculpture was refurbished and moved from the museum's lower lobby to its atrium.
Reception
''Archimedean Excogitation'' has been a popular attraction for museumgoers.
Metta Winter, writing for ''
The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'', described it as "a noisy, unpredictable affair observers find hard to walk away from".
Hayley Kaufman, writing for ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', called it "seemingly unstoppable
nddelightfully complex".
It is associated with the
kinetic art
Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or that depends on motion for its effects. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are ...
movement.
The sculpture is used by the museum as an educational tool to help illustrate the principles of physics and
mechanical device
A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...
s.
It was featured on a 1999 episode of ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...
''.
See also
*
Rube Goldberg machine
A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a s ...
References
{{authority control
1987 sculptures
Kinetic sculptures in the United States
Sculptures in Massachusetts
Works by George Rhoads