Thursday Salute to Originals: The Selfie Machine
Meet Aaron Kramer, the artist who uses recycled materials to produce graphic art! Most recently, this contemporary artist has dreamt up a selfie machine (yes, you read that right) that recreates his self-portrait with a single stroke of a marker. Kramer became intrigued with rubbish as a young adult and felt that there was more of an artistic value to what was considered to no longer have worth. He uses his creative vision and makes visually captivating objects of significance and appeal!
Kramer says that he feels as though “trash is the failure of the imagination.” He defines himself as a welder, woodworker, painter, and inventor. It is clear that, in order to have a vivid artistic vision, that this artist has a strong natural curiosity that motivates his process. His passion for discarded items continued into adulthood and he began collecting items to capture memories from trips to various places. His inspiration for this series began when he noticed tourists taking selfies.
Kramer started making mechanical portraits. He researched historical drawing machines and implemented a similar mechanism for his machine. The machine recreates his portrait based on an analog program. As the selfie is started, it takes on the character traits of its inventor. Kramer has said that he appreciates that when the drawing is completed, it reveals the “man behind the machine.”
This Thursday we are saluting Aaron Kramer and his selfie machine. An imaginative twist on a selfie! An old-school idea using pen and paper instead of your smartphone to capture an artistic interpretation.
Sources: Aaron Kramer, Inventions Insider