Austin Proper, the downtown Austin condo and hotel tower still under construction at 600 West Second Street near Shoal Creek and the rest of the redeveloped Green Water Treatment Plant site, already has its first two permanent residents — and they’re owls. Two 10-foot owls at the corner of West Second and Nueces Streets, to be exact:
It’s certainly a more striking work of public art than those big concrete dog leavings over by the new Central Library, but what’s going on here? Called Kempelen’s Owls, the two sculptures are a collaborative work between the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places program and Massachusetts-based studio New American Public Art.
Kempelen’s Owls, inspired by the 18th-century robotics of Wolfgang Von Kempelen, will be an interactive sculpture that fosters curiosity. Two Texan great horned owls . . . will perch atop dodecahedrons (12 sided geometric shapes) and silently observe surrounding passers by. The interactive features of the work are hidden, awaiting discovery by visitors who can activate them to trigger movement in the owls.
— City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
Yes, you’re reading that correctly — the owls, spooky glowing eyes and all, are equipped with hidden mechanisms allowing them to turn their heads and stare at you. Just in time for Halloween, right?
Here’s a very complex article about some of the technology enabling this extremely interesting and mildly unsettling feature, and below you’ll find a video from the artists about the design and fabrication of the owls — they’re made from “layered metal and other composite materials,” per the studio:
The installation is also the first in the city’s Art in Public Places collection to be fully open-sourced under a creative commons license, meaning in theory you have all the resources available to build one of these terrifying things yourself.
Here’s a full 3D model of the work from computer-aided design software firm Autodesk, one of the project’s main sponsors — we’re just gonna scroll it around a little and call it a day, but feel free to start putting one together in your garage if the design really speaks to you. Your neighbors will love this thing.
Latest Downtown Austin Condos For Sale
-
$420,000
507 Sabine ST #906
Austin, TX -
$549,000
1801 Lavaca ST #5D
Austin, TX -
$1,600,000
800 W 5th ST #1104
Austin, TX -
$475,000
1212 Guadalupe ST
Austin, TX -
$699,000
48 East Ave #2004
Austin, TX -
$11,990,000
200 Congress Ave #50T
Austin, TX -
$699,999
48 East Ave #1404
Austin, TX -
$804,450
300 Bowie ST #1301
Austin, TX -
$1,550,000
300 Bowie ST #3602
Austin, TX -
$529,900
360 Nueces ST #1112
Austin, TX -
$254,500
1800 Lavaca ST #A-702
Austin, TX -
$575,000
360 Nueces ST #1807
Austin, TX -
$585,000
40 N Interstate 35 Highway #10D2
Austin, TX -
$706,500
44 East Ave #1804
Austin, TX -
$750,000
603 Davis ST #1610
Austin, TX
-
Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size877 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size1,189 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size554 sqft
Home Size2,337 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size954 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size893 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size349 sqft
Home Size5,050 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths4.5 Baths
-
Lot Size75 sqft
Home Size893 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size105 sqft
Home Size1,038 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size170 sqft
Home Size1,704 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size812 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size262 sqft
Home Size608 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size852 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size1,059 sqft
Home Size1,360 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size614 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size214 sqft
Home Size1,122 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
Leave a Reply