Isn't It Ironic?

Turning may be the most dynamic branch of woodworking' - during the
making of a piece - the wood spinning, the tool moving and rotating.
Ironically, the results are almost always static. There is often
visual implications of movement - swirling grain, a line evoking a
curling wave, a sweeping curve inspired by the path of a dancer's hand,
a series of beads reminiscent of a ripples on the edge of a pond,
spirals carved into a form - intentionally - a little whirlwind in wood,
a piece precariously balanced - about to fall over?

BUT - the majority of pieces are static, stabile, inert - sitting on a
pedestal or a shelf or table - the viewer being the dynamic part of the
interaction, changing his/her vantage point, or better yet, picking up
the piece to explore it - visually and tactually. The piece itself
remains a static object - unchanged and unchanging from the time the
maker finished it.

A while back I turned a lidded box with what I thought was a flat spot
on the otherwise rounded bottom, a small bead separating the round from
the flat area. I discovered when I set the finished piece down that the
"flat spot" in fact wasn't flat. The box rocked and seemed to be
falling over - then righted itself and wobbled towards tipping over in
the other direction. It continued to wobble and rock for another second
or two before coming to rest ALMOST vertical. I'd stumbled on what
kayakers and canoeists (?) know as Primary and Secondary Stability -
something that's tipsy but won't fall over - especially significant if
you're sitting in it and you and it are on the water. People seemed to
enjoy playing with this piece because it was dynamic and they seemed to
like it better than nicer turned lidded boxes it was with.

I recently stumbled on the ball and socket / swivel joint. Now I'm
experimenting with articulated joints (previous post Where Do Ideas Come
From - Creativity or Synthesisity). What if one of those pieces you've
seen with things protruding out of it - or one of the eccentric turnings
- had parts on it that would move as you touched or handled the piece?
Tilt it and the look changes. Spin it and the look changes. As you
grasp it things move under your touch, the piece changing as a result of
your interacting with it.

I think it was an Arch Musing that suggested integrating methods,
materials and techniques from other disciplines with wood turning.
Machinists make
all kinds of things to allow two parts to move relative to each other.
Could some of them be adapted to turned wood pieces?

Does adding actual, as opposed to implied, movement to some pieces seem
a good idea - or just a gimmick?

charlie b