The Iron Genie Harmonograph

Watch artist Anita Chowdry‘s Iron Genie Harmonograph create intricate, spirograph-like drawings. Made of steel, it was inspired by mid-19th century harmonographs and St. Pancras Station‘s Victorian engineering. The video was filmed in the crypt of St. Pancras Parish Church by Josh Jones. From the artist:

The immediate appeal of the Harmonograph to me is that you can witness the unfolding of natural dynamic geometries that have always existed independently of our aesthetic sensibilities. We cannot draw them ourselves without the aid of mechanical devices. They have existed long before we discovered them, before we even began to understand the physics that drives them, before we had the language to define them in mathematical terms. They are a part of the dynamics of the universe – they have existed long before us, and perhaps that is why we find it so hypnotic to watch the drawings unfold before our eyes as the swinging pendulums drive the movements of the pen and paper…

Images of the resulting artwork can be found at Scientific American:

From July 8 – September 21, 2014, the Iron Genie will be showcased at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford.

via John Baez.