Theo Jansen
The Great Pretender
No creature on earth is better at pretending than we humans. The title of this book is a way of saying
that our daily life is nothing other than a show played out in our minds. We have a talent for creating a
fantasy world. Luckily for us. He who is unable to daydream becomes hopelessly depressed. Our talent for
simulating is so strong that we are even able to pretend that we exist. We simulate a first-person form,
an 'I'.
In The Great Pretender, kinetic artist Thea Jansen shows that the 'I' we envision is a tool in our
evolution. We need this tool to be selfish. There can be no selfishness without the I-fantasy. Since 1990
Theo Jansen has been engaged in creating new forms of life: beach animals. These are not made of protein
like the existing life-forms but from another basic stuff, yellow plastic tubing. Skeletons made from
these tubes are able to walk. They get their energy from the wind, so they don't have to eat like regular
animals. They evolved over many generations, becoming increasingly adept at surviving storms and water
from the sea. Theo Jansen's ultimate wish is to release herds of these animals on the shore. In redoing
the Creation, so to speak, he hopes to become wiser in his dealings with the existing nature by
encountering problems the Real Creator had to face.
The Great Pretender is a testimonial to his experiences as God. It's not easy being God; there are plenty
of disappointments along the way. But on the few occasions that things work out, being God is the most
wonderful thing in the world.
The book contains 240 richly illustrated pages and includes a companion DVD of beach animal video's (same
as the one we sell separately).
Price:€ 39.50 + shipping
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