At a distance, it looks like a child is swinging on a trapeze in the stairwell of the Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering. But a closer look reveals a newly installed sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist Glenn Kaino.
The work, “Not Afraid of Falling,” pays homage to an automaton built in the late 1840s by French watchmaker and illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. And like the original automaton, it’s also a feat of engineering. Though the robot appears motionless, he swings a full arc in a week. According to Kaino, the work represents “a young boy who will forever swing in the playground of dreams as a reminder for all students who pass through that the spirit of playfulness and creativity is always present.” The installation was commissioned for the Allen School through the support of Sylvia Bolton and the Leo Maddox Family.
