Someone get me an eco-straight-jacket.

From a design stand point it's kind of cool; if only a practical application could be found for these guys. Still though, it's pretty interesting.

Sorry, but releasing plastic all over beaches that serves no purpose but to pollute and kind of look interesting for 5 minutes is not a good idea. Where is the bylaw officer? Someone is going to get a huge ticket for littering!

he's not your average artist. he is also a professor at the TU Delft in the Netherlands. The same that has been winning the solar car race for three (or four) years in a row. and I must say I'm kinda proud to be a student there...

Yeah, theo jansen is doing some pretty extraordinary things. This isnt a plastic bottle that someone threw out in the water. Great art is something that pushes the language, or redefines what we traditionally view as art. He's really starting to blend that line between engineering kinetics and art. I for one find it fascinating, and quite beautiful.

Yes, the point isn't the art, it's the Artificial Intelligence of the "animal" that is important. But I agree...I'm ready for my straight jacket now. I have a hard time envisioning a world that includes functional use of these elegant monsters and humanity too, beyond the elite upper class, that is.

i think his creatures are amazing. sometimes, good design has no 'purpose' but the science and ideas discovered or created can be used in incredible ways.

Beings like these could one day explore alien worlds, able to delicatly explore the landscape, using only the wind to move them, minimizing their impact.

This is amazing and definitely agree it doesn't have to have a purpose.

However, the only purpose of making children or people in general think about living creatures in such a simple way seems like a great achievement to me.

I am a sailor and my opinion is that is wouldn't be long before these creatures are part of the huge plastic gyres that are killing sea life at an unprecedented rate. We have failed miserably in keeping plastic at bay in our oceans, and putting giant plastic sculptures on the beach seems to me a recipe for disaster. As a sailor, I can tell you that there are two places you don't want to be in inclement weather ~ near a shore or on the beach where wind and land meet. So even if someone thinks that they are going to monitor these "beasts" (my choice of spin would be "giant plastic moving trash dumps"), they will be hard pressed to monitor anything in storm conditions.

We already have "beings" that move gracefully on their own that are self-sustaining......and "God" created them first. Yes, these are cool but I just think it's releasing more trash into an already overburdened environment....does anyone pay attention???

I think that it has a huge purpose. It just has not yet been completely discovered. The uses of these animals and the science surrounding them is significant to developing a better understanding of a more eco-friendly machine and forms of transportation. It is not the fact of what it is made of but how it is run... by the wind! It understands that there are things it needs to protect itself from and travels only where it feels safe. It could be a very useful means for safe and eco-friendly movement. The man is brilliant!

Ludicrous and ridiculous, name it what it is (art) and stop pretending its a new life form. I agree with everyone else who says its more trash on the beach. Every time I go to the beach (several times a week) I spend my time picking plastic trash up, I don't want more plumbing crap and lemonade bottles on the beach for me to pick up. Make an exhibit, put them out for a day every now and then, but for God sakes please take them off the beach when you are done. If any part of that thing fell apart and made its way into the ocean it could kill a sea turtle or other marine life who mistakes it for food. As someone who has seen 3 dead turtles on the beach in one week's span, I second all the other people who call it trash.

Ludicrous and ridiculous, name it what it is (art) and stop pretending its a new life form. I agree with everyone else who says its more trash on the beach. Every time I go to the beach (several times a week) I spend my time picking plastic trash up, I don't want more plumbing crap and lemonade bottles on the beach for me to pick up. Make an exhibit, put them out for a day every now and then, but for God sakes please take them off the beach when you are done. If any part of that thing fell apart and made its way into the ocean it could kill a sea turtle or other marine life who mistakes it for food. As someone who has seen 3 dead turtles on the beach in one week's span, I second all the other people who call it trash.

Absolutely amazing! the experience and intelligence that it took to put this into being is a testimony the the resources in our learned elderly humans! Why is it no one even mentioned this. I am 61 years old and wish my resources could find an avenue too. Dee Dee

This is the only type of art there is. The other art is just poluting the earth we must strive to help this guy and we should also help to stive and use my halo 3 cheat.

First Go onto the ark and look for a dark brown pirce of sand. It is much darker that the tan sand. it is on the place where there are the vehecles and the crashed long sword. After you find the grain of asnd you must fly above it by repededly grenade jumping or by usinf the flying spartan glitch. After finding out the leter that is written on the ground by grainds of sand you bust go to the longsword and prests the button of the letter you fund on the ground ove the longssword sand you might be able to fly it arround and go into space. Flying it is as eay as flying the shee

Have Fun!

i don't know if anyone still reads this article, but does anyone see potential agricultura equipmentl applications for these?