The Beests Have Landed

November 27, 2015  By: Leanne DeMars 

"The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." This what Theo Jansen, creator of Strandbeest had to say when asked about his architectural masterpiece.

You may have seen the commercials for it while watching television or passed by the giant billboard displayed outside Peabody’s North Shore Mall. I, too, found myself wondering what exactly those giant stick-like creatures were, so I decided to investigate. I headed to the Peabody Essex Museum in downtown Salem to experience the great Strandbeests.

The Peabody Essex Museum explains that this exhibit “blurs the lines between art and science, sculpture and performance.” As I entered the exhibition room, I was immediately captivated by these giant works of art. It is one thing to see pictures of these beauties, but to actually see how large and intricate they are is an amazing experience. In the center of the room stood one of the Strandbeests, available to be pushed by curious visitors. A friendly museum employee supervised this phenomenon to ensure both the Strandbeest’s and the visitor’s safety.

I personally was very excited to push the Strandbeest and see it in action. After pulling it back and forth, I moved on to the other parts of the room where a few more of these giants were displayed. Some were labeled as “fossils” as they no longer could be pushed. Jansen’s works were once displayed on a beach where they were they were pushed solely by wind. Because of the sand, some of the Beests could no longer move. Although sedimentary, they were still amazing to look at.

The exhibit is available until January 3, 2016. If you have the chance, take the time to experience the Beests for yourself.

Contributor’s note: The craftiest contraption Leanne DeMars ever made was a model of the Eiffel Tower out of toothpicks for a middle school project.