Good Thinking

Artist creates animated life-size Mechanical Horse

Artist creates animated life-size Mechanical Horse
The galloping Mechanical Horse, caught in motion (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The galloping Mechanical Horse, caught in motion (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The galloping Mechanical Horse, caught in motion (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The galloping Mechanical Horse, caught in motion (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The Mechanical Horse on display at The Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The Mechanical Horse on display at The Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida (Photo: Adrian Landon)
Adrian began work on the project in 2013, after having built a series of non-moving horse sculptures over the previous four years (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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Adrian began work on the project in 2013, after having built a series of non-moving horse sculptures over the previous four years (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The Mechanical Horse's range of motion (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The Mechanical Horse's range of motion (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The whole Mechanical Horse is driven by one small electric motor (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The whole Mechanical Horse is driven by one small electric motor (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The Mechanical Horse breaks into a slow-motion gallop, at the press of a button (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The Mechanical Horse breaks into a slow-motion gallop, at the press of a button (Photo: Adrian Landon)
One of the CAD files used to design the Mechanical Horse (Image: Adrian Landon)
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One of the CAD files used to design the Mechanical Horse (Image: Adrian Landon)
The first version of the Mechanical Horse was designed using a pencil and paper (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The first version of the Mechanical Horse was designed using a pencil and paper (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The Mechanical Horse incorporates over 30 feet (9 m) of chain (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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The Mechanical Horse incorporates over 30 feet (9 m) of chain (Photo: Adrian Landon)
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As a child, Brooklyn-based metal sculptor Adrian Landon played with Lego a lot. He also learned about horses from his polo-playing dad, who in turn learned about them from his father, who was an equine veterinarian. That background set the stage for Landon's latest work of art, a stainless steel life-size Mechanical Horse that gallops in slow motion at the press of a button.

Adrian began work on the project in 2013, after having built a series of non-moving horse sculptures over the previous four years. With no background in engineering, he set about designing the thing from scratch using a pencil and paper.

The resulting piece was a little too far from perfect, so he decided to scrap it and build another. This time around, he designed it using a 3D CAD program. Although it was still "a laborious headache," he feels that the final product is 10 times better than its predecessor.

"It’s like inventing a car from scratch, and it definitely won’t be perfect the first time," he said.

The Mechanical Horse on display at The Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida (Photo: Adrian Landon)
The Mechanical Horse on display at The Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida (Photo: Adrian Landon)

The Mechanical Horse features over 100 bearings, custom laser-cut sprockets, 30 feet (9 m) of chain, and 23 articulating joints. It's all driven by one small electric motor. Although some people had suggested that Adrian set his sights a little lower and start with an easier-to-replicate trotting gait, he thought that just wouldn't be exciting enough.

He's quite pleased with the end result, and hopes that it will give viewers an appreciation for an animal that used to be an integral part of most peoples' lives.

"Horses have been in my family for generations," said Landon. "This relation that I have had the privilege to develop is what I seek to portray in my work, to give people, and not just horse people, a feel for something that they should know about, and by making this Mechanical Horse, I am taking it to the next level."

The sculpture can be seen in motion, in the following video.

Source: Adrian Landon

Mechanical Horse - Close ups and night time

View gallery - 9 images
2 comments
2 comments
Milton
very impressive!
Jeni Moncayo
Is he working with Deborah Butterfield? :-)