Tom Shannon: The painter and the pendulum

[MrPhukface]

FUCKIN MAGNETS, HOW DO THEY WORK?

[stEPHIQUE]

it is incredible what people can achieve, if they have a healthy "heart" and "mind". and i don't refer to physical health. earth would be a better place if all people were like this guy.

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

I am so jealous. I'd love to make a living doing totally senseless stuff.

[lastkidpicked169]

@MomoTheBellyDancer

Quite the opposite of senseless, troll.

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

@lastkidpicked169

"Quite the opposite of senseless"

Please tell me what the use if what he's doing. 

[lastkidpicked169]

@MomoTheBellyDancer

Woah, sorry for calling you a troll. I admired Tom Shannon very much so when I posted that comment. But he's a lot like Buckminster Fuller. He's an artist, inventor, and above all, futurist who believes in creating technology to directly benefit the greater good of humanity through ecological and natural means. He offers a unique and eye opening perspective of the earth, the universe, and human potential regardless of how small we are. His art is difficult to interpret

[lastkidpicked169]

@MomoTheBellyDancer

...but it isn't senseless. I said "quite the opposite" because his work is very accurate. On the surface, his work seems simple and insignificant, but the meaning behind it, the perspective, and the information it has to offer is of significant substance, and even gives us meaningful insight into our universe.

[lastkidpicked169]

@MomoTheBellyDancer

...To be honest this video doesn't represent that very well but the one on his gravity defying sculptures absolutely does, especially the end.

[pooh1234567890]

Cool I didn't really know him until I saw this, love his art though. Its so simple on the surface but in fact has another dimension underneath.

[cssst10]

maybe you can try different shaped tips at the bottom where the paint comes out or you could design it so stops and starts in designated intervals. i loved this whole video and was not suprised the guy was left handed.

[SomethingUnreal]

"Evenly-spaced lines which get closer and closer together"?

[merryjuan]

I noticed this contradiction too, better to have put it,, " as the paint line spirals toward the center the spaces between consecutive orbits diminish proportionately "

[Evangeline1974]

This is amazing!

[sutphoe]

he sounds so like john cage

[tyrannicoystercult]

thats a trippy zoom in at 8:10. the interviewer here needs work yeah

[Q8SR66]

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[Q8SR66]

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[Q8SR66]

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[ringostar8]

2:52 - just a little treat.

very cool video.

[chemicheese]

This is true art, makes my stomach become boood.

[skipplet]

The interviewer did way too much talking and injecting his own ideas into what Tom Shannon was saying.

[me259259]

He takes "Spin Art" to a whole new level.

[medicaledibles]

Guys its "Comments" not biography or self-absorbed, loving the smell of your own fART life story. I thought the radiowave is incredibly artistic natural patterns. Invisible to the naked eye til now!

[hemansx]

hear hear!

[eenkjet]

right now i'm making a $60,000 project for a chapel. it's very advanced veneer embossing and digi-etched panels (modern stations of the cross). but i don't think it quite measures up to "art" because of they pay homage to byzantine triptychs created 100's of years ago. i'm an artist making some fine craft currently. as artists, we need to respect the concept of art. what it is and what it isn't. even when we rehash our own innovative real art. it is no longer art.

[eenkjet]

okay... high art. there is a difference. such as 7th grade art students are making "art". but the finer definition is more scientific. making a creative expression that places itself at the forefront of has not yet been done. high, fine, classic, fine craft, kitsch, illustration, performance....yes it's all "art". a more finite definition just suits me better. only in the world of art is the bar so low to qualify. apply these same elementals to music or gourmet cuisine. doesn't work.

[mattsissel]

THIS NOT ART, but he does have some cool ideas.

[Aestros909]

@mattsissel

How is this not art? This is how he expresses himself. What's wrong with that?

[mattsissel]

You just expressed yourself in replying to me, but I doubt you'd consider what you have done as art. I have no problem with his work at all. I really think the magnet thing is very cool. It just isn't art.

[cafenelu]

@mattsissel

what is art, then, and why?

[tyrannicoystercult]

@cafenelu

it's observable in his responses that his focus is on innovating in the physical creation of the images and sculptures but that they aren't especially controlled or nuanced in terms of expression. if the desired feeling was atonality or dehumanization maybe that's something though, ok it has succesfully evoked something for me but who knows ha. it gets a bit tricky when saying the minimum requirement is that someone can project into it. there should be some control, or it's an object

[superfatamusic]

"What is art, then, and why?"

Hmm, why did you get thumbs down for that question? I'm an artist and this is the question fellow artists hate the most, though it cant possibly get any more essential than that...

[tang3reen]

@mattsissel Take a art class before discussing art.

Art is more than just an expression of self/environment/truth/unjusti­ce/religion/ideas/fantasy/chao­s. Art enhances environment, brings insight, depths &new meaning and more.Art stimulates emotions& intellect..

I see a symmetrical composition- balancing line & implied line; tones mirroring these ideas. Motion& values, colors mimicking their creation;these pieces themselves seem to flowing give a sense of peace because of a great balance & unity.

[daelohmen]

REMINDS ME OF LINKIN PARK

[cybertooth49]

How does this remind you of some of the worst music ever created?

[daelohmen]

i wont know the answer to that until i listen to the music you've made..wait a minute..your sorry ass can't sing roflmao

[TheGOFAWKYOURSELF]

u want to hear bad music check out their channel

if they cant understand mnemonics or your musical symmetry connection with linkin park its probably due cause they still listen to fionna apple which makes me think what tha fawk LOL

[cybertooth49]

You make assumptions based on something you have no concept of (being my ability as a singer), and I make opinions based on my (unfortunate) exposure to Linkin Park. Grow up and buy a real record.

[eenkjet]

graffiti is a craft like calligraphy, not art.

[daelohmen]

everything we see is art, even chicken scratches in the sand..u probably don't apprechiate grafitti cause it resembles to u vandalism

[dbalieiro]

[repost] @[[MayasNet|dbalieiro]]

[boredwithcoldfeet]

i can't help but think it would be more fun being the pendulum painting

[HamOnCan]

love the wee pics it producess. . . so much we never see, because we never get close up to the nature of our sense of beingness

[chris57805]

im glad there is graffiti because otherwise art would be dead

[Phyrexious]

Yeah, who doesn't like to see people writing their names in weird unreadable letters under a bridge.

[daelohmen]

i learned there are 2 main types of graffiti ...burners and tags

i like burners they are the full pictures where tags are just people giving their autographs lol

[chris57805]

holy shit what happened to art

[daelohmen]

he ran out of paint

[2008Raw2008]

the camera work stinks. this could have been a really interesting show.

[DanteShimazu]

Does thi guy have parkinsons?

[FFSray]

IN THE DESCRIPTION

"TED Talks TED visits Tom Shannon in his Manhattan studio for an intimate look at his science-inspired art. An eye-opening, personal conversation with John Hockenberry reveals how nature's forces -- and the onset of PARKINSON'S tremors -- interact in his life and craft."

[happysquid14]

@DanteShimazu Yes he does.

[sausage4mash]

well ; beats working for a living I guess

[eenkjet]

why are we even discussing this. the art world (especially the new york scene) is up to it's eyeballs in sub-par high dollar uncompelling "art". art, for the most part, is dead. and this is just another installment of it's death. good work does not require so much explanation. you look at and go "wow" that's awesome. to the people standing in amazement during this interview. the king ain't got no clothes. now, the sculptures are awesome. do more sculptures.

[lynleyinlondon]

If art is dead it is because "the people" do not support it. There are fine artists, writers, musicians, dancers, et cetera living in shacks because of the lack of taste in the masses. It is not a question of your concept of, "the king ain't got no clothes." (that sentence nearly gagged me to copy). Rather, it is about people becoming cruder and ruder, as is clear in some of these posts. This guy is not Renoir but he's not Ed Hardy either. Why not just appreciate what he has to offer?

[AClarke2007]

@lynleyinlondon They didn`t like me picking my nose.

[testament]

well said, although i don't think art is fully dead yet, its just overlooked it always is.

[cutecavity]

It upsets me this superbly talented individual is being picked apart for a medical condition and not his creative insight and intellect.

[goodlukeing]

To be honest, I don't care much for all the pendulum ones, but the paints are amazing.

[Ramsez]

i honestly can't watch this. his constant jerky movements are making me dizzy.

[apocaRUFF]

You might want to see a doctor, you have some extreme messed up case of motion sickness. It's not normal.

[Ramsez]

he should see a doctor. he has an extreme case of parkinsons disease.

[apocaRUFF]

Well, Mr. Dipshit, he probably has and does see a doctor regularly. Please, get your head out of your ass and get a clue :) And go see a doctor for your extreme case of motion sickness. You probably have some kind of mental disorder that causes motion to have an extreme affect on you. I can't imagine how you feel in a car, or a plane. And god forbid that you ever get into a ship, there'd be so much puke and (possible) shit and tears, you'd probably cause a wreck, somehow.

[morganseathomson]

@ ramsez... he actually does have parkinsons...and it seems like you got either foot in mouth disease, or full-body asshole syndrome.

[happysquid14]

@Ramsez SO???

Why does that matter? Even if you have something like Parkinson's, chances are it'll make you smarter and in this guy's case, it did.

[theseanze]

@happysquid14 -- heh, I'm not really sure why you responded to me, but I wouldn't go saying Parkinson's makes you smarter. It might add a great deal of depth to your personality through pain but the point of that is humility, not to wear it like a badge.

[Ramsez]

@happysquid14 why would parkinsons make you smarter? its a neurological decay...

[rich0319726]

Very cool, but not a new idea. They were doing pendulum art at the Exploratorium in San Francisco in the 1970's.

[j0nmarinelli]

doesn't it say he started in the 70s?

[RobinDropping]

@rich0319726 Yeah , there is nothing new under the sun so why even bother trying? BTW your comment is like Deja Vu.

[JaksProductions]

Intel Pendulum processor- Devil Inside

[thiagokronig]

@TheDoford

I totally agree [2]

[theburninator88]

next project for him is to use ferrous paint and a pendulum with some magnets, that would make some pretty crazy shapes and interference patterns

[frantnik]

very sophisticated and inspired man

[CAlex6977]

This is really freakin cool. Im inspired.

[supajive]

wow this is gay, i can do this also. no meaning in his work, i thought it was going to blend in with milo wolff's work with his theory of reality.

[studiojulio]

you can do it as well, but he did it first.

[PlanckEpoch]

Totally irrelevent but as someone with a medical interest...why the left hand tremor? Early onset of parkinsons? Stroke perhaps? To move on, excellent thought provoking video.

[exgod111]

@planckepoch

i think he wacks off too much and his hand is just trying to do the usual lmao

[studiojulio]

he has parkinson's disease. that's why his hand is shaking.

[theseanze]

nevermind...at 11:12 he explains this style of his was created so he could get around his parkinsons, convesefan.

Interesting guy...

[littleconvesefan]

his levitating sculpture is marvellous, but god, his quivering hand made me want to punch him in the face...

[theseanze]

maybe he he's developing Parkinson's disease...

[happysquid14]

@theseanze Argh, he already has it!

(sorry, I'm sick of telling people.)

[Beachapeeater]

The interviewer asked great questions!

[psyoptech]

Awsome TED Talk.

[matoxewu]

simply amazing

[GundamFreaq]

for the most inappropriate imagination: 2:20 watch his left hand

[planetdarwin]

re:gundam

i lol'd

[planetdarwin]

I see the "cum on my face" lady at 7:43. Do you think she giggled when the artist said "penetration"?

[michalchik]

I saw that too ;-)

[hwn000]

what's the "cum on my face" lady?

[planetdarwin]

re:hwn000

she's the old lady in black at that time... she did a TED talk about breaking the myths about sex. She started by saying she didn't like guys to cum on her face like in pornos. The audience at TED was .... awkwardly silent...... it's in the TED talks channel somewhere....

[danabnormal88]

@planetdarwin yea and the other one cant walk!

[mjtrickster]

in the contemporary art world the only difference between art and an everyday object is art has meaning behind it. this guy clearly thinks his concepts through and has an explanation behind the pieces

[Saktoth]

@mjtrickster

All everyday objects have meaning behind them.

[mjtrickster]

well i believe there is a distinction between something having a purpose, such as a tool, and something having meaning, like a symbol. his artwork has meaning because he is conveying a message, not using the artwork as a means for something else. it is the end, not the means to the end.

[testament]

This doesn't make sense to me, a symbol has no meaning except what we impose on it and that gives it a purpose which makes it into a tool anyways.

His "artwork" has no meaning or message at all, its just a recording of an occurrence, its nothing. i feel more comfortable calling this guy a journalist or historian of physical occurrences than an artist.

I could be wrong tho, it happens.

[Saktoth]

@mjtrickster

Who imbues something with meaning? The creator, or the viewer?

Tools have meaning. The Hammer and Sickle? The Gladius, the gun, the spanner. These are artefacts of power. A lathe may just be a tool to you, but to a woodworker it is a livelihood, it is the instrument through which he creates, it is centuries of technology and technique.

These everyday objects have more meaning behind them than a widget in a gallery that is meant to it represents mans inhumanity to man.

[mjtrickster]

@testament and Saktoth

thanks for the serious replies, you both present great counter arguments the viewer is always going to have a different perception then the creator, but i feel a real artist should be able to intentionally guide those thoughts on a narrower track then leaving it wide open for interpretation. the sun to earth cone for example makes you think of the universes proportions. ya its just a record of a real occurance but it intentionally gives you a feeling of being small.

[Saktoth]

@mjtrickster

My grandfather knew a struggling classical landscape painter who would fume about modern art. One day, as an ironic joke, he mounted an old shovel on a wall and called it his masterpiece. The galleries lapped it up. So he went on to make more, similar pieces. My grandfather asked him 'When are you going to tell them it was a joke?' and he said 'A joke? This is ART!'. He finally had recognition, which is all he had ever wanted, and had fallen for his own mythos.

[TheDoford]

Art is something personal. It needs no explanation.

[GrimSoul66]

@TheDoford

Yeah for some people. But personally, I like to share my art. :)

[TheDoford]

Lol, i'm just saying the emotional, sensory effect of art is different between people. Art isn't universal, it's subjective.

[GrimSoul66]

@TheDoford

I totally agree.

[eenkjet]

speaking as a hypertechnical digital mixed media artist, this work compared to the sculptures is not worth discussion and certainly not worth a TEDtalk. similar to chihuly paintings... these are shit sandwiches prepared by a master some other artistic skill set.

[riotriotriot55]

He's an 'artist' in that he creates these stories about his paintings.. 'i've never seen radio imagery in paintings' are you KIDDING ME?

it's a bunch of smoke and mirrors.

[muzzleray]

The best art always looks like science (eg Bach) and the best science looks like art.

[malcolmbryant]

@muzzleray

One is the reaon of beauty, the other the beauty of reason.

[McCetera]

Yes this is art. Whether or not you like it or not, or you think it's clever or innovative or simplistic or gimmicky. It doesn't change what it is. It's only purpose is aesthetic and intellectual. It is art.

[playgrrrr]

ok. so he has a pendulum that can drop paint. big deal... thats not exactly hard to do nor is it something that produces "art".

his levitation sculpture on the other hand is very different, and it only works on earth, not farther away, because the balance of the forces would dissipate.

[rey777777]

really great video, I love TEDtalks

[BoMBeK1986]

>:-D

[markus2004]

Well, it's as he said, in some ways a record and response to the movement of the pendulum. I don't think you can dimiss it because he didn't do it but hand, Warhol had most o fhis work done by lackeys, the end justifies the means i think

[yousefamar]

I didn't know you could have Parkingson's on only one hand. :O

[Truthiness231]

@yousefamar Yup, he could have that and/or CP in only one side of the body, and I'm pretty sure it's the case with any form of nerve disease or paralysis considering there is a point in the neck where the two sets of nerves that control each half of our body separate.

BTW: watch?v=3OHVGgk1Qg0 (someone else who has CP on only one side, and uses it in his stand-up comedy (trust me, it's funny and eye-opening; not offensive)).

[Arghira]

Jesus Christ THIS IS ART? omfg I like that aluminum thing (magnets) but the pendulum?

[Sushantgupta12]

good artwork

[code933k]

Amazing sculpture and IMHO cheap painting.

[lingbotobbe]

Woho...second place in comment! :-D

TEDtalks is the best channel on youtube!

[Hanskfheag]

....