Bart Schalekamp

Artist Bart Schalekamp operates on the cutting edge between art and design. He draws inspiration from different materials which he playfully examines for their specific characteristics. He then brings these materials together to form a kinetic sculpture.

Schalekamp’s kinetic installations are ingenious, funny, loud, and very exciting. The work Friction for instance, consists of two blocks of wood placed on top of each other. The bottom one moves back and forth like mad, while the top one is stationary. You wonder: for how long can this go on without the whole thing falling apart? Which is a question that can be asked of any of Schalekamp’s works. Something is happening in front of your eyes and at first you can’t quite get your head around it. But you cannot look away, because you know something unexpected could happen at any moment.

Schalekamp is an ace at prototyping, designing ideas at small scale and then developing them. To then blow up the work to absurd proportions or perfecting it in some other way. His work One Measurement is one of his prototypes. He made it to prepare for his graduation piece Measuring Movement. Bymeasuring out the rhythm and movement with a single measuring tape first, he was later able to combine six measuring tapes for the piece. The result? A moving piece to go on a wall in which he makes the six rattling and colliding measuring tapes, bent into triangles, ‘dance’ using a chain and cogs. Tweetakt is showing the single measuring tape that started the whole thing.

And then Schalekamp is creating a new kinetic work especially for Tweetakt. Using a weight and balancing the object, he researches how movements can amplify each other. What do you think, will it stay balanced?

The third work Tweetakt is showing is called When It’s Time. It also features gravity; here it makes a small ring dance. Pay close attention and wait for it: the dance could start at any moment.