Meason Wiley and Amber Lepley
Cycle is a large-scale kinetic sculpture made up of 16 – 3 ft white aluminum tubes. Each tube is suspended in the air by 12 feet of aircraft cable connected to pulleys. The aluminum tubes are driven by a 10′ x 24″ custom-designed and fabricated steel helix camshaft. The camshaft is attached to a variable ac motor, mounted within a large steel rack that supports the camshaft. The entire work weighs over 350 pounds, and is suspended in the air by 1/2” aircraft cable, connected in four corners by hooks on chain motors. When powered, the aluminum tubes slowly rotate in a circular/sinusoidal motion, creating a visual representation of one complete cycle of a sine wave.
This work attempts to visually interpret and represent the physical characteristics of a mechanical waveform in terms of phase, amplitude, frequency, and wavelength. The mechanical nature of the work, along with the circular motion generated by the helix camshaft, attempt to reinforce sound’s intrinsic cyclical nature, allowing the viewer a more accurate depiction of the motion of mechanical waves.