Ryan Buyssens was born and raised near Detroit, MI; an environment that imparted a rich, lifelong influence from the automotive industry’s mechanized culture. He received his MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art, is a recipient of the North Carolina Artist Fellowship and has exhibited his work internationally (New York City, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Dubai). Ryan is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at the New College of Florida. As an artist, inventor and maker of kinetic esoterica, he expresses his commentary on logic and progress through the manipulation of various media. Recently, he has been exploiting interactivity of kinematic objects and environments in order to create new experiences for participants. Ryan creates his devices with the use of electronic sensors and micro-controllers, computer design, 3D printing, CNC machining, laser-cutting and good-old-fashioned-patience.
A cyborg possibility
“My pieces are full of contradictions. At once inviting and intimidating, the lifelike mechanisms and intricate designs draw the viewer in for a closer look. However, their cold machine aesthetic and proximity-triggered movement tend to startle the unprepared. Yet the fluid, natural, lifelike movement tend to draw participants in for a closer look. This push/pull relationship tends to be the basis for my work.
As an early adopter, I embrace the cutting edge by utilizing new media in all of my work, yet my pieces reveal an ambivalence about how technology will continue to evolve. My objects are assembled from 3D printed, machined and laser-cut parts so that they appear cold and high-tech, in direct contrast to the organic forms that they animate. They utilize contemporary micro-controller and sensor technology to achieve the interactive abilities that complete their lifelike facade.”