Electromechanical Drawing Machines
Jack Tait
Summary
Jack Tait presents his lifelong exploration of electromechanical drawing machines, explaining how simple instructions can produce complex, non-repeating drawings. He acknowledges key supporters, including Sean Clark, whose efforts have made the exhibition and event possible. Tait describes his programming process as a recipe of ingredients—forward and reverse motor behaviour, timing, and the natural speed variation of DC motors—which he turns to advantage to introduce quasi-randomness. He traces the development of his machines from early sine-wave and turntable devices through a homage to Desmond Paul Henry to recent work with flow pens and chisel-nib pens that vary line thickness. He also explains that colour draws viewers in, like bees to pollen, so they notice details they might otherwise miss. A central theme is his current obsession with randomness, chaos, and the persistence of coherence: he builds new machines to investigate specific visual questions, such as a six-contact randomiser mimicking a die and a linear-cam pen-rotation machine contrasting linear and nonlinear movement. Because the machines delegate decisions to mechanical chance, every drawing is unique. Tait also notes his shift from photographic paper and film to direct digital capture, ensuring his practice continues alongside the machines themselves.
This AI summary was generated by kimi-k2.7-code (13th August 2026).