UCI/Beall Center for Art+Technology

On Friday March 25, 2011 I got the opportunity to visit the UCI/ Beall Center for Art+Technology.In the gallery I got the opportunity to see Chico MacMurtrie Amorphic Robot Works. In the gallery they had three different kinds of inflatable bodies. These three inflatable bodies are called the Birds, Inner space , and Bic Morphic. The student who was in charge of the gallery explained to me that these inflatable bodies have life and death. If you get close to them they start inflating and creating sounds but if you move away from them they will die. She explained to me that these Inflatable robots are multi- faceted machine-sculptures that interact in their uniquely designed environments. The work involves a kinesthetic inquiry into the human condition, which has resulted in the creation of more than 250 mechanical sculptures that assume anthropomorphic and abstract forms. The first inflatable work involved birds.

These inflatable robots have the looks of a bird. When I got near them they automatically started inflating by themselves. It was very exciting to see all the birds inflating like if they were just born. They also were making some sounds. The greatest part was that nothing was cover. Everything was shown on how they created the birds. There were many invisible cables connected to the birds. The birds seem to be flying. In the beginning I didn't really get the point of the birds but then the student told me that you had to use your imagination in order to see the life of the birds. After I moved away from the birds, they automatically started dying . I also saw two other inflatables robots. The first one seemed like a spider web. I was able to go inside the inflatable robot, the student told me that I could get trap in the spider web so I needed to be careful.

I also got the chance to see the inner space inflatable body. In the beggining I was confused because I tought that it was a spider web or something else. The student there explained to me that it was a Inner Space body and if you would get near it it would start inflating by itself and also start creating sounds. She also said that you had to put your time to see the picture of the body. I was very excited to see this inflation body work, I was also able to go inside the inflatable body and be able to experience it myself.

This inflatable body is called Biomorphic, It looks like the body of a human. When I first saw this piece of art i didn't know what it was. Again, i use my imagination and it look like the movement of a human and the death of a human. It was very interesting to see this inflatable body because its different from the others is also more simple and turns into different forms.The student at UC Irvine explained to me that art is all about using your imagination and that you always have to see things in order to have an experience.  To be able to see all this inflatable bodies you have to use your imagination. The birds reminded me of when i used to draw those kinds of birds because that was the only kind of birds i was able to draw. It was a very small gallery but i think the smaller a gallery is the more time you will have to look at an art creation. The student there also showed me books about the other inflatable bodies Chico has created. Their all around the world. Perhaps someday ill have a chance to go see all of these inflatable bodies and just get insipred by them. I believe that everyone can create something if we just take the time to think about what we want to create. It was an awesome experience and i hope all of you get the chance to go and look at these inflatable bodies. I had alot of fun and I am going again with my family.