While wandering the internet in my typical fashion, I was stopped dead in my clickings by the sight of this remarkable artist and his creation. Don’t you love her? She’s made entirely from typewriter parts. And she’s not an only child. Jeremy Mayer has created a whole world of these fantastic creatures. That’s a lot of dismantled typewriters!

In 1995, Mayer was given an old Olivetti typewriter and asked to drop it off at Goodwill. Instead of handing it over, though, he took it apart and starting playing with it. Twenty years later, he’s still playing with typewriters. He doesn’t glue or wire or weld the parts together to create his sculptures, either. He attaches the parts to each other using only materials native to the machines.

“There are a lot of things we’ve created that are just sitting around inert. . . This is our chance to take everything we have, pick it all apart, choose the best parts, and reassemble it.”

I try not to overuse the word genius, but in this case, I think the label definitely fits. His understanding of anatomy is phenomenal. These sculptures are so incredibly lifelike, it feels like they might move on their own when you’re not looking.

He’s very prolific, but here’s a pretty good cross section of his work. And don’t miss the video goodies at the bottom!

 

 

 

And to keep you entertained while you marvel over these complex and beautiful sculptures, here’s a little theme music!

I was thrilled to discover he gave a TEDx Talk in 2012. He’s very well spoken, and his process is as compelling as his work.