Research notes for project planning
What the project record tells us
2011 collaborative vehicles
Mechanical puppetry with a shared mythology
Kyrsten Mate describes Serpent Twins, made with Jon Sarriugarte, as a shift toward sculpture and puppetry. Two fifty-foot dragons were built from barrels; their movements and contrasting characters carried her mythology. Touch could send a rainbow through a body using an accelerometer, with electronics contributed by Keith and his team. For comparable moving artwork, how would a host coordinate performers, movement space and audience interaction so its narrative remains readable while it travels through the crowd?
Burning Man — artist interview ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefHow would performers, movement space and audience interaction preserve the narrative in motion?
Big Art Partners planning prompt 2009 collaborative vehicle
A solo vehicle assembled around existing mobility hardware
Electrobite grew from Mate’s wish to ride separately at night. She and Jon Sarriugarte hand-worked its exoskeleton and mounted it on an old electric wheelchair’s drive mechanism; blue underlighting and glowing eyes established its nocturnal character. The 2009 work shows how a sculptural vehicle can begin with a rider experience and existing hardware. For a related project, what relationship between rider posture, visible anatomy and nighttime illumination would make the creature convincing as it moves?
Burning Man — artist interview ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWhat relationship between rider posture, visible anatomy and lighting would support the creature in motion?
Big Art Partners planning prompt 2021 festival listing
A workshop community behind the giant snail
Autumn Lights Festival’s 2021 program credits Golden Mean to Jon Sarriugarte, Kyrsten Mate and the Empire of Dirt. The giant snail-shaped hot rod was built collectively by artists in West Oakland’s Kraftworks building. That record locates it within both a workshop community and a garden festival. For a presentation of comparable moving sculpture, which contributors should be named, and what setting would let visitors understand the collective making as well as encounter the finished creature?
Autumn Lights — 2021 artists ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWhich contributors and setting would communicate the collective making behind the creature?
Big Art Partners planning prompt 
