Uncanny Landscapes #13 - Ian Ingram

An interview by Justin Hopper with artist and roboticist Ian Ingram.

Ian Ingram is an artist and roboticist based in California. His practice is concerned with building robots - kinetic sculptures - that attempt to communicate with animals in their own languages.

 

So, for example, you'll hear him discuss a 'lizard' robot that does push-ups the way some lizards do, to mark territory - yet through a robot inspired by Brancusi. Or a 'squirrel' robot that uses its tails to signal danger to its wanna-be species.

 

Besides his website, Ian has a TIkTok with loads of videos, and Instagram, too. It's well worth looking at these to see the robots while you listen.

 

The music in this episode is by the great guitarist Nick Jonah Davis, from his album When the Sun Came - appropriately spring-like and acoustic for Ian's playful, joyful robots.

 

Host Justin Hopper has an Uncanny Landscapes substack - it's free, and has the first post of the podcast + more. JH can be found via LinkTree or on Instagram; there is an Uncanny Landscapes twitter feed.

 

Title sounds by The Belbury Poly, courtesy Ghost Box Records.

 

The Uncanny Landscapes icon is by Stefan Musgrove.