'Orbital' harmonograph by Ivan Moscovich

Made:
1970 in unknown place
maker:
Ivan Moscovich

'Orbital' by Ivan Moscovich, 1970. A harmonograph drawing in red, blue, green and orange on plain paper. The inner spiral pattern in green and blue, with a red centre, overlaps vertically with the surrounding orange spiral. Signed and dated bottom right 'Ivan Moscovich 1970'.

Ivan Moscovich is a renowned artist, puzzle inventor and museum professional who has made a career out of combining science, mathematics and art. The son of an artist and photographer, trained in engineering and mathematics, he is known for early computer art and for founding the Museum of Science and Technology in Tel Aviv.

Moscovich developed and patented the harmonograph in 1968 – an analogue machine that creates drawings through the motions of two pendulums – and went on to create hundreds of drawings. This example shows clearly the two pendulums creating patterns in blue and green, or orange. The harmonograph and associated drawings were included in the landmark 'Cybernetic Serendipity' show at London's Institute of Contemporary Art in 1968. This drawing was produced in 1970 and sold by Heal & Son the same year to be used as a teaching resource for the Derbyshire Schools Library Service. The service was set up in 1936 to create a collection of museum quality objects to be sent to isolated schools in the Derbyshire region, including a wide range of visual material.

The Museum of Science and Technology in Tel Aviv was the first science museum to emphasise hands-on interactive exhibitions and became the inspiration for Frank Oppenheimer’s Exploratorium in San Francisco. The exhibits of the Tel Aviv museum included Moscovich’s harmonograph, and harmonograph drawings are now in the collections and displays of the Exploratorium.

Details

Category:
Art
Object Number:
2021-497
Materials:
paper (fibre product) and ink
Measurements:
frame: 730 mm x 730 mm
type:
drawing
credit:
Transferred from Derbyshire County Council, Schools Library Service, with support from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund.