Sterling Publishing, April 2008
Somewhere along the line, in the development of current American culture, education evolved from integral, integrated life experience into an industry (see implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for ghastly evidence of this trend). Learning is Serious Business, and instructional book publishing is an important aspect of this market.
For those of us with existential ineptitude and disposable income, the “...For Dummies” series offers valuable instruction on topics such as “Acne for Dummies,” “Beekeeping for Dummies,” and “Breastfeeding for Dummies.” I am not kidding, ladies and gentleman—these titles, and hundreds like them, are available for purchase upon request. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide…” collection provides similar illuminations, including “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Catholicism,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Verbal Self-Defense,” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Middle East Conflict.” I’ll let you make your own jokes about those titles—if you’re not naturally funny, I’m sure there are plenty of books to teach you how.
“Creative Kinetics: Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood” by Rodney Frost is another how-to manual, but the most unfortunate thing about the book is the title. If you consider yourself adept at mechanics and woodcraft and are hoping to learn exactly how to make the fascinatingly intricate and mildly macabre contraptions depicted on the cover and elsewhere in the publication by reading the book, you will need to either reconsider your ideas about learning and art or buy additional lessons from somewhere else. Frost does offer the basic tools and concepts for building moving sculptures, but he then directs readers to make mechanical marvels using their own minds and hands via inspiration rather than instruction.
This is not to imply that “Creative Kinetics” sends off without a sturdy foundation. The book includes detailed explanation and instruction on the use and integration of simple mechanical elements such as cams, cranks, flywheels, and pulleys. The text is sprinkled with bits of useful, elementary wisdom on tools, materials, and techniques, such as the difference between wood and metal drill bits and left- and right-handed scissors, how to clean a file or remedy a slipping pulley belt, and where to find inexpensive materials (garage sales). Lessons in other creations such as jumping jacks and mobiles (and their immobile cousins, stabiles) are also included.
Frost’s philosophy of art actually makes the exclusion of more sophisticated step-by-step instruction an asset to aspiring artists. Frost is drawn to kinetic art due to its capacity for discovery and metaphor—eyebrows wiggle when a handle is pulled or a rusty carousel of soldiers becomes a symbol for our entrenchment in self-destructive behavior—and he suggests that a sense of childlike wonder be the guiding force in project formation and execution. As such, much creative direction is put back onto the reader. (“How will I know how much detail to put into my figure to make it look like a person?” “Start making the figure, and when it begins to look like a figure instead of a piece of wood, stop.”) You will find this either delightful or entirely maddening to read.
This book is the next best thing to having a wacky artist friend to help you personally with your projects, and by “artist” I do not mean someone who uses that title to justify their unpalatable choices and behavior, but, rather, one of those rare individuals whose values, aesthetics, and actions impeccably align. The art in “Creative Kinetics” is interesting, both mechanically and conceptually, and Frost’s elucidation of his own creative process is quite helpful. The mechanical instruction in “Creative Kinetics” is tailored for beginners. However, be forewarned that the ideas will not likely be accessible to dummies or complete idiots.
