Incredible Art in Motion: From Freeze Frame Urban Photography to Kinetic Sculpture

What could be stranger than a person twisted and frozen in time inches above a street? How about a wind-powered automaton bred to be the perfect perpetual motion machine? The following three artists all approach motion in different ways - through photography, sculpture and video - but the results are awe-inspiring in each case.

Denis Darzacq, moved by September 11th and riots in his native France, took a series of photographs which he entitled The Fall. These images were shot with a normal camera and not altered post-production in any way. Darzacq set up sessions with hip-hop and break dancers in the most abandoned parts of Paris he could find.

Theo Jansen likewise plays with ideas of art and motion, but in a radically different way. Watching his kinetic sculptures from a distance they seem more than lifelike: they appear positively alive. Though the video of his work is impressive, it doesn’t convey the full story. Rather than stop at a single sculpture, Jansen tests the abilities of each of his creations and then “breeds” the best survivors into each new generation.

Russel Wyner’s work is perhaps more playful than the artists cited above, who have made their way increasingly into the public limelight. At the same time, however, he presents the underlying message that television and animation are often discredited as media that can be used in the creation of high art. The above video shows both his amazing creative abilities as well as the whimsical side of his art.

For more amazing art-in-motion, be sure to check out these amazing building jumping images as well as this collection of 7 extreme urban sports videos and an insane race through Paris. Enjoy this article? Subscribe to our feed.

Want More? Check Out These Great Related Articles:

Posted by Urbanist November 14th, 2007
Guerilla Action, Urban, Urban Art, Urban Images, Urban Videos, Various
Comments: 21

Comments

Comment from fotowes
Time: November 14, 2007, 5:11 pm

Great post guys, all I think are great art forms. Theo Jansen is simply amazing.

Comment from anemi
Time: November 14, 2007, 7:19 pm

very cool stuff heY! thanks,
~ X anemi

Comment from rony john
Time: November 14, 2007, 9:36 pm

Excellent collections…Truly amazed

Comment from shahab
Time: November 15, 2007, 10:49 am

very very good , butiful. i love you webur banist

Comment from Chris
Time: November 15, 2007, 2:49 pm

I’ve seen before Theo Jansen’s work… it’s really great. Also Russels art is very entertaining, and I’m sure it took him a lot of time to make this video.

Comment from Justin
Time: November 16, 2007, 1:58 pm

Pretty nifty!

Comment from Brandon - Call Center Consultant
Time: November 16, 2007, 3:50 pm

So the guys in the pictures just land on their faces?

Comment from GuessLotto
Time: November 17, 2007, 4:44 pm

That was awesome! The thing walking in the video looks like something outta HL2

Comment from Simon
Time: November 27, 2007, 10:10 pm

Those pictures at the top remind me of the views in Super Mario Galaxy. Play that game for a few hours straight and it will change the way you see the world.

Comment from Irma Gámez
Time: December 9, 2007, 12:35 am

Those videos with hip-hop dancers on YouTube and it´s awesome

Comment from dR
Time: December 14, 2007, 1:29 pm

fk’in fantastic.