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Theo Jansen

Dutch artist · Netherlands · Artists · Born 1948 · age 78

Theo Jansen is read about 182 times a day, in 25 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 8 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 76 days, one point a day.

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Theodorus Gerardus Jozef Jansen is a Dutch artist. In 1990, he began building large mechanisms out of PVC that are able to move on their own and, collectively, are titled Strandbeest. The kinetic sculptures appear to walk. His animated works are intended to be a fusion of art and engineering.

A life in dates

2011“The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds, and few go beyond them.”In their wordsIn advert for , as cited in: Herman van den Broeck, David Vente. Beyonders: transcending average leadership. (2011). p. 52.

2007“In the Pregluton, there were no animals of plastic tubing yet. This initial period was marked by an absence of matter. Life then consisted exclusively of dreaming about life.”In their wordsp. 9 ; Paragraph "Memory in reverse"

“I made virtual animals in the computer, life-forms subject to an artificial evolution.”In their wordsp. 9

“The anatomy of self-propelling objects is subject to universal laws. Those of cars and animals are similar in many ways. First of all, there's the stomach.”In their wordsp. 153

2002Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology AwardAward1990“Since 1990 I have been occupied creating new forms of life. Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic material of this new nature.”In their wordsTheo Jansen at streamingmuseum.org, 2014.

1948Born17 March 1948

Also in Deutsch

Photos 2

A strandbeest, exhibited by Jansen on the Linz city square during Ars Electronica, 2005A strandbeest, exhibited by Jansen on the Linz city square during Ars Electronica, 2005

In their own words 5

,
Theo Jansen
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5 statements, newest first

  1. The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds, and few go beyond them.

    2011, In advert for , as cited in: Herman van den Broeck, David Vente. Beyonders: transcending average leadership. (2011). p. 52., Own words

  2. In the Pregluton, there were no animals of plastic tubing yet. This initial period was marked by an absence of matter. Life then consisted exclusively of dreaming about life.

    2007, p. 9 ; Paragraph "Memory in reverse", Own words

  3. I made virtual animals in the computer, life-forms subject to an artificial evolution.

    2007, p. 9, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award2002
Prix Ars Electronica

About this person

Theodorus Gerardus Jozef Jansen is a Dutch artist. In 1990, he began building large mechanisms out of PVC that are able to move on their own and, collectively, are titled Strandbeest. The kinetic sculptures appear to walk. His animated works are intended to be a fusion of art and engineering. He has said that "The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." Some of his creations are reported to incorporate primitive logic gates for collision detection with obstacles such as the sea.

Country
Netherlands
Category
Artists
Type
Artist
Status
living
Dates
Born 1948 · age 78

Artists from the Netherlands 6

Govert Flinck53.3Erwin Olaf53.2Karel van Mander the Elder53.3Meindert Hobbema53.2Paulus Potter53.4Ferdinand Bol53.1

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