The word sums up where my work and interest lies. There is something primordial about the way movement affects people.

The influence of gravity, centrifugal force, stored energy and other laws of physics can combine in many complex and intriguing ways. They can make the balls do some surprising things.

It’s interesting to watch a person viewing my work. A ball’s unexpected motion or change of direction draws them in and captivates them, and adults become children for awhile.

Wires are amazing three dimensional lines. The interaction of these lines is constantly changing depending on the angle of view and lighting of the work.

It has always delighted me, the inner workings of even the simplest of mechanical devices. How it works and why it works fascinates me. I try to make machines in the simplest form, after a motor assisted lift. I distill the motion down to gravity power only. I want people to stop, and try to discover how and why it works, not dismiss it as something unfathomable or “magic”.

Balancing these interrelated types of movement in my work is very challenging for me. I want my work to speak to people on two levels, when it’s not in motion and when it is. At times artistic “needs” and the laws of physics cans be diametrically opposed and can cause me to rework a piece many times over.

My inspirations come from life experiences. Often I’m not even sure from where they originate. When I’m working my thoughts run like a slide show of partial pictures, a glimpse of a machine, a flash of an interesting shape, and an image of abstract motion. I try to grab these images and combine and arrange them into a sculpture of steel and motion.

Art should affect and change a viewer. I try to reawaken the child inside that person, putting them back in touch with the “play” that is inside of each of us. The changes in the person viewing my work isn’t just internal. As you watch the person approach, study, and leave my work, the change is visible and dramatic.

© 2004 Jeffrey Zachmann