Robotic Chair - 2006
Sculpture
Edition: 6
laptop computer, router, camera, camera mount, motors, gears, sheet metal chassis, fiberglass, steel, aluminum, custom software, radio, wood veneer, wood/fiberglass platform
32 x 16.5 x 16
Performance platform: 8” x 96” x 96”
Collaboration Max Dean, Raffaello D’Andrea, Matt Donovan
Collections: artist (add to cART), National Gallery of Canada, Changi International Airport
The “Robotic Chair” is the culmination of a twenty-year exploration of kinetic sculpture. Modeled on a simple wooden school chair, the “Robotic Chair” has the extraordinary capability of falling apart and then putting itself back together again. In order to accomplish this amazing act the “Robotic Chair” is equipped with a mechanical robot embedded in the seat and a computerized vision system. The chair is a metaphor for life’s process - falling down, and picking yourself up; falling apart, and putting yourself back together, over and over again. Max Dean realized Robotic Chair in collaboration with engineer and systems architect Raffaello D’Andrea and industrial designer Matt Donovan.