Somerville man plys the art, science nexus

by George P. Hassett

The strange artistry of Somerville scientist and artist Arthur Ganson can begin its evolution in circumstances as diverse as walking his dogs in the Middlesex Fells Reservation and playing with his food at the dinner table.

The world-renowned Ganson, whose wild sculptures have been shown in museums from Cambridge to Germany, said he contends that the world is his classroom and each experiences its own lesson.

An example of this openness to new ideas is his acclaimed piece “Machine with Wishbone.” In the work, a machine powers the wishbone in front of it to walk. To the eye it appears that the slight wishbone is pulling the heavy machinery behind it.

“’Machine with Wishbone’ is a piece that came to mind when playing with food,” he said.

“I was sitting at the dinner table playing with a wishbone, making it walk like a cowboy who had been sitting in his saddle too long, when the idea came into my head that I could make this tiny wishbone look like it was pulling a comparatively heavy piece of metal just by putting the weight of the machine on the top of the wishbone,” said Ganson.

Ganson said this odd method of scientific research is one of his most useful tools in sparking new ideas.

“My most interesting ideas come when I’m just playing with objects. My role as a sort of mad inventor is to not take things too seriously to be childlike looking at the world,” he said.

Ganson said he tries to employ this concept of thinking like a child in all of his work and the effects must resonate because he is not only popular in intellectual circles but also among children who respond to his work in a special way.

“Children are naturally creative and I pay special attention to the notes and e-mails I get from them. I learn a lot from these simple yet honest responses,” he said.

“I think kids connect to the crazy inventiveness of my work. They appreciate that these are serious machines with absurd aspects,” said Ganson.

It is the unconscious beauty of childhood that he responds to and that sparks many of his new ideas, just as a simple walk through the woods can set his creative mind on the right path, he said.

“I’m affected by walking in the woods. My favorite place is Middlesex Fells, it is right between my home and my studio – I walk my dogs there everyday,” he said.

“I think about nature and the complex organization of animals and plants. I revel in the harmonious structures of nature where all the extreme beauty is unconscious. There is no goal or intent for beauty in the woods, it just is,” said Ganson.

It is in these settings that Ganson said his mind gives birth to his absurdist pieces, such as “Machine with Wishbone” and the still in progress – “Cory’s Yellow Chair.”

In “Cory’s Yellow Chair,” yellow pieces of wood are stored in a vacuum where they come together just long enough to see that it is a chair and then break apart again. As with so many of his other works, Ganson said he presents the observer with more than just scientific ideas.

“I came up with the idea for “Cory’s Yellow Chair” while thinking about how fleeting the present moment is,” he said.

“I was asking myself; when is now? Has it passed? Now is it now? It was also a look at the big bang in a dreamlike way,” said Ganson.

Yet, Ganson does not want people who view his work to take his ideas as concrete statements about the world we live in, he said.

“When I make these pieces I’m not saying anything about science or about the world. I’m merely suggesting certain ideas in hopes of sparking new ideas in people’s minds,” he said.

The unique work that Ganson does has often been featured in venues just as unique. One such venue was The World Sculpture Racing Society, which practiced its odd brand of art in the streets of Cambridge during the 1980s.

“The World Sculpture Racing Society was founded by Jeff Cage and Kirby Scutter. In it, artists would come together and race their sculptures at the Cambridge River Festival,” he said.

“A playful and odd approach to say the least because the piece which wins and garners the most attention is not necessarily the one that has the most artistic value, but the one that can reach the end of the street first,” said Ganson.

Ganson’s work has also been exhibited in more conventional venues such as the MIT Museum in Central Square and the DeCordova Museum in New Hampshire.

He has been profiled in prestigious publications such as The New York Times and the Smithsonian Magazine. Yet he said success was never something he planned; in fact he never planned anything.

“I have gradually come here without ever really knowing where I’ll end up – I’m always focused on the present, with the task before me,” said Ganson.

Those tasks are exactly what Ganson wants and are as sacred to him as the woods he walk through everyday.

“I always wanted to create, to build. Those were the activities that I was passionate about. Making my little sculptures and contraptions allow me to manifest the dreams I see all night and day,” said Ganson.