David C. Roy

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David C. Roy
David C. Roy, Kinetic Sculptor.jpg
David C. Roy, Kinetic Sculptor in 2006
Born1952
Education Boston University
Known forSpring-driven kinetic sculptures of wood
Notable workDimensions - capable of running 40 hours on a single wind [1]
Movement Kinetic art
Spouse(s) Marji Roy, 1974-present [2]
Relatives Karen Rubin (daughter) [3]
Website woodthatworks.com

David C. Roy is a kinetic sculptor. [4] [5] He has designed over 150 different moving sculptures and produced one-of-a-kind or limited edition instances of each: In total he has hand-built thousands of pieces. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Education and career

Roy's father was an aeronautical engineer working on jet engines, and as a boy he was interested in invention and science. In 1974, Roy received a degree in physics from Boston University and then got a job as a computer programmer for an insurance company until becoming a sculptor in 1975. [9] [10] [11] The idea for the career direction came from his wife-to-be, Marji, who was at the time an art student in sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design. [10]

His sculptures, which are mainly made from laminated Baltic birch hardwood, are not timepieces but they do include clockwork-like mechanisms such as escapements, suspended weights, counter-weights, and (more recently) constant force springs. [1] [12] [13] They are not electrically powered because an important connection is that the viewer winds the piece by hand. [14] The run time of early models was about 30 minutes, but he has refined the technique to the point that some run up to 40 hours on a single full wind. [15] Many include the moving moiré pattern from co-axial spoked wheels rotating in opposite directions. [16] Roy focuses not only on the motion but also the sound. He has developed escapements that are either nearly silent or that produce the soft clicking of wood on wood. [17] A few incorporate wind chime tubes. [6] In the beginning he hand drew his schematics, but he has gradually migrated to computer-assisted design and animation. [18] [19]

His studio is in Ashford, Connecticut. [2]

Reception

His work has been displayed since the late 1970s in science and art museums, in art galleries, and is in corporate and private collections around the world. [20] His work and life has been covered in publications including The New York Times , [21] [22] Discover magazine, [23] the Hartford Courant, [24] and the Boston Globe. [25] Writing for the Baltimore Evening Sun, Carl Schoettler waxed poetically that "Echo ... looks like a spinning wheel for ghost tales at midnight. Serendipity ... might measure rainbows." [26] Bill Aller of the New York Times found them "intriguing." [22] A turning point in Roy's career was acceptance to exhibit at the Northeast Craft Fair in Rhinebeck, New York. [14] Reviewing this exhibit at the 1979 show, Nancy Pappas of the Hartford Courant was impressed with the sculptures' "silent, hypnotic motion." [27] In the Journal Inquirer Richard Tamling wrote about the "...constantly shifting relationships among shapes - as occurs in mobiles - as well as motion and sound [28] In InformArt Magazine, Tyler Chartier found the moving parts create "...wondrous patterns that spin, swirl, flutter, and undulate in the most entrancing ways." [29] Writing for American Woodturner Journal, Peter Rand observed that the motion in the pieces is "...intriguing in its sequence, which is infused with rhythm and evolves over time." [30]

In 2020, Roy was interviewed about his art by Wired . [31]

References

  1. 1 2 Ouellette, Jennifer (2015-09-14). "These Cool Kinetic Sculptures Can Run 40 Hours After a Single Wind of the Spring". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2016-01-05. Each machine relies on a constant force spring ... earliest sculptures employed a suspended weight to induce the motion, much like a pendulum clock.
  2. 1 2 Crockett, Zachary (2015-05-13). "The Kinetic Wood Sculptor". Priceonomics. Retrieved 2016-01-05. Today, from a small Ashford, Connecticut wood shop,
  3. ↑ Ben Mirin (2013-04-29). "VF Profiles: Karen Rubin - A Passion to Build in Boston". VentureFizz. Retrieved 2015-04-08. Her father studied physics in college and has since become a professional artist specializing in kinetic motion devices. Her mother studied sculpture and runs the family business that sells her husband's art.
  4. ↑ Beschizza, Rob (2006-11-06). "The Kinetic Wood Sculptures of David Roy". WIRED. Retrieved 2016-01-05. Since 1975 David has created dozens of these curious works of art
  5. ↑ "Now That's Craftsmanship, Boyo". WIRED. 2004-04-22. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  6. 1 2 Roy, David (2011-09-16). "TEDxBGSU - DAVID ROY- KINETIC SCULPTOR". TEDx Talks YouTube Channel, TEDxBGSU, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. Retrieved 2016-01-05. ...he has designed and handcrafted over 150 different limited edition and one-of-a-kind kinetic sculptures and built thousands
  7. ↑ Roy, David C. "Portfolio" . Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  8. ↑ Lara Ehrich. "Art in Motion". Boston University. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  9. ↑ Abrams, Michael (November 2015). "The Beauty of Movement". American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 2016-01-05. ...engineering scholarship to Boston University. He switched to chemistry for a while and eventually received a degree in physics.
  10. 1 2 "Once a physicist: David Roy". Physics World (Institute of Physics, UK). February 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-05. Towards the end of my degree, I started spending time at the Rhode Island School of Design, where my future (and present!) wife Marji was studying sculpture and art education.
  11. ↑ Kim, Damon; Carlson, Patricia (December 1977). "Small Business and Crafts: Wooden Kinetics". Yankee Magazine. 41 (12): 131. By the summer of 1975 ... David quit his job in insurance and began working full time on...
  12. ↑ Worrell, Pat (Summer 2002). "All the Right Moves". AmericanStyle Magazine. 8 (4): 80. The "arms" at the top of David C. Roy's Geppetto ... are counter-weighted by long "legs" that frame the left side of this movable piece.
  13. ↑ Mok, Kimberley (2015-09-18). "These mesmerizing kinetic sculptures run up to 40 hours without electricity". TreeHugger. Retrieved 2016-01-05. I started using the springs and never looked back.
  14. 1 2 Schiro, Anne-Marie (1980-06-28). "America's Craftsmen Gather at Rhinebeck". The New York Times. p. C1. The idea is for you to put in your energy, then sculpture runs for half an hour to an hour
  15. ↑ Jobson, Christopher (2015-09-14). "These self-propelled kinetic wood sculptures by David C. Roy can spin for nearly a day". Colossal. Retrieved 2016-01-05. mechanical wind-up mechanisms without the aid of electricity ... capable of whirling around for a whopping 40+ hours.
  16. ↑ Roy, David C. (December 2010). "Principles of Design, Kinetic Art" (PDF). Northwest Woodturners Newsletter. 17 (12). ...wheels so they always move at the same pace but in opposite directions...
  17. ↑ Ehrlich, Lara (Spring 2016). "Art in Motion". Boston University, College of Arts and Sciences magazine. Retrieved 2017-03-26. includes a video How to Make a Kinetic Sculpture
  18. ↑ MacWorld, Macintosh Master Calendar. April 1991. Roy designs all his kinetic sculptures using Illustrator 88. He uses Swivel 3D and MacroMind Director to produce animated prototypes.
  19. ↑ Bedford, Mike (September 2001). Computer Shopper UK: Sculpture Club. p. 320. ...using Adobe Illustrator on an Apple Mac is just the start.
  20. ↑ "'Energy Sculpture' at Bruce Museum – a visual motion study". The Greenwich Times. 1983-03-12.
  21. ↑ Malarcher, Patricia (1986-12-07). "CRAFTS; A Guide To Holiday Shopping". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-01-05. Also featured here are mesmerising kinetic sculptures by David Roy...
  22. 1 2 Aller, Bill (1979-05-24). "Handmade Crafts by Theater Artists". The New York Times. Some of the more intriguing pieces are kinetic wall sculpture by Dave and Margie Roy
  23. ↑ Kim, Scott (2003-10-01). "Bogglers: Spinning". Discover Magazine. 24 (10): 83. Retrieved 2016-01-05. David Roy is an artist in Ashford, Connecticut, who has always been fascinated by motion and mechanics.
  24. ↑ Croft, Jack (1987-02-20). "Couple toy with kinetics, succeed in business". The Hartford Courant, Eastern Edition. p. D3.
  25. ↑ Temin, Christine (1982-05-27). "Critic's Tip: Exhibits: Sculpture that does things". The Boston Globe.
  26. ↑ Schoettler, Carl (1978-02-17). "Some Ado About Machines Working Well Doing Nothing". The Evening Sun, Baltimore. Echo ... looks like a spinning wheel for ghost tales at midnight. Serendipity ... might measure rainbows.
  27. ↑ Pappas, Nancy (1979-06-22). "Rhinebeck: A Crafts Mecca". The Hartford Courant. ...wind-up weights attached to almost-invisible strings can keep the sculptures in silent, hypnotic motion for as much as three hours at a stretch.
  28. ↑ Tamling, Richard (1984-06-25). "Sculpture that Performs deserving of Applause". Journal Inquirer. p. 23. ...figures that travel - that spin, somersault and rotate - and form shifting constellations of shapes ... constantly shifting relationships among shapes - as occurs in mobiles - as well as motion and sound.
  29. ↑ Chartier, Tyler W. (Fall 2004). "David Roy – Sculpture in Motion". InformArt Magazine. 15 (4): 46. [The real art] is a visual interplay between the different physical pieces that creates wondrous patterns that spin, swirl, flutter, and undulate in the most entrancing ways.
  30. ↑ Rand, Peter (February 2012). "Turning to the Next Dimension. Real Movement in Turned Objects". American Woodturner Journal. 41 (12): 38–45. Motion in these geometric pieces is complex, of variable speed and pattern formation, and intriguing in its sequence, which is infused with rhythm and evolves over time.
  31. ↑ "How This Guy Builds Mesmerizing Kinetic Sculptures". Wired. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
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