Karakuri Ningyo
Karakuri Ningyo are traditional Japanese mechanized puppets from the Edo period (1603 – 1868). Their exquisite motion is clockwork-powered. Matthew Allard shot a gorgeous video about Hideki Higashino, one of the few remaining craftsmen determined to keep the tradition alive.
The way he moves is somewhere between dance and meditation. I remain silent in front of the figurine doing calligraphy. Hvala, Tadeja!
There is something like mythical poetry in their mechanical movement, in the slowness of their repetetive motion which is almost ritualistic. When the master craftsman described how difficult it is to set the flip-over automaton in perfect motion and how happy it makes him to succeed, I was, in a strange way perhaps, comforted. I am glad you were inspired as well!