The interactive installation "Fledging" by the American artist Christian Ristow is a large mechanical bird which is set in motion by man. A person can climb into the bird by a staircase allocated in the tail of the bird, sit in its chest, and take the position of a cyclist who rides a recumbent bicycle. By peddling, the visitor starts an intricate composition of chains, sprockets, cogs and levers which open and close the wings, curving them towards the body just like real birds.
The installation has so far been exhibited at music and arts festivals throughout the USA, including Burning Man, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans and Maker Faire Bay Area.
Supported by: Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and City of Rijeka - Department of Culture
The programme is part of Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture project
Rijeka - Port of Diversity
Christian Ristow (US)
Raised in San Francisco, the son of a plastic surgeon and a fine-artist, Christian Ristow developed an early and keen interest in the intersection between aesthetics and structure. After receiving a B.A. in Architecture from Columbia University in New York, he returned to San Francisco and began his apprenticeship with the groundbreaking robot performance group Survival Research Laboratories. Inspired by the experience and influenced by the works of sculptor Jean Tingueley, architect Santiago Calatrava, and artist H.R. Giger, Ristow began engineering his own distinctively biomechanical creations. After moving to Los Angeles in 1998, Ristow put his robots to work, orchestrating a series of solo shows exploring themes of unchecked power, sexual aggression, and human mortality.
Since his 2006 move to New Mexico, Ristow's work has focused on large-scale interactive mechanical sculptures, such as the Hand of Man, Fledgling, Face Forward, and Becoming Human, among others.
Ristow’s high-octane performance art and large sculptures have been seen at galleries, festivals, and fairs all over the world, from Los Angeles to New York City, from Jerusalem to Berlin to Melbourne, Australia.
His work has been featured in books like Robo Sapiens and Body Probe, in magazines such as Popular Mechanics, Wired, National Geographic, Spin, Raygun, Penthouse and Bizarre, as well as on Current TV and The Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage and Monster Nation. His animatronic and robotic work has been featured in Bicentennial Man, Stephen Spielberg’s A.I., Spider-Man 2, and Zathura, among other feature films and television commercials.
https://www.christianristow.com/
