Theo Jansen's "Beach Beasts"

This picture is of one of Theo Jansen's "Beach Beasts", but this sculpture not only looks really interesting with its jungle of connecting tubes, it actually walks on its own, using only the wind. Watching these creatures slowly walk along the beach is like watching a skeleton of some never before seen creature come to life again. This is exactly what Theo Jansen is going for. Through his kinetic sculptures, he is seeking to create a new kind of nature. He uses ideas based on evolution to improve his creatures and eventually wants to put herds of them onto the beach to let them live their own lives. But when asked whether what he is doing is art or science he replies that they are all the same, he sees no difference (Jansen studied physics at school, but also became a painter).

What I find most interesting about Jansen's art is the way it seems to create life, in a sense. Many artworks can be thought of as "creating life" in a sense because they might create new worlds and emotions on a canvas that don't exist in the real world, or at least not at the moment. But I think Jansen takes this concept even further, his creatures not only move but are self-propelled using only energy from nature, just like real lifeforms do. Jansen's art not only makes us question the line between art and science, but also between art and nature.