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Douglas Ruuska

Douglas Ruuska connects physics, mechanical systems and public participation in large installations. His biography describes work shown in Antarctica, the Black Rock Desert and Boston, and a contribution to the musical pendulums for Björk’s Biophilia project. Mechanica Musica, dated 2016, uses an eight-foot steel wheel as a human-powered programmable music box. Its design combines individually settable pins, hammers and marimba keys, with participants’ movement driving the mechanism; the page also documents the work on the playa. Rayactivation, dated 2018, translates the movement of a cownose ray into an illuminated kinetic sculpture. Its project account discusses motorized wings, fabric tension skins and motion controls, then captions photographs of the finished work at Burning Man. These projects bring scientific observation into shared physical experiences.

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Representative artist / studio imageImage: douglasruuska.com ↗Image courtesy of Xuth (as credited at source)

At a glance

Practice
kinetic sculpture, interactive installation, sound sculpture, light installation
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Not documented
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individual
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Not documented; confirm with the artist, studio or estate.

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Documented disciplines include kinetic sculpture, interactive installation, sound sculpture, light installation.

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