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All the United States Arizona Tucson Mat Bevel's Museum of Kinetic Art & Surrealistic Pop Science Theater

Mat Bevel's Museum of Kinetic Art & Surrealistic Pop Science Theater

A Tucson museum and performance space full of found-object movable sculptures.

Tucson, Arizona

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The movable sculptures of the Museum of Kinetic Art   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Artist Ned Schaper leads private tour in the Gallery, showing “Sharka” kinetic scultpure   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Artist Ned Schaper Performs “Wind of Change” as the character Mr. Chairperson during Mat Bevel Company Grand Opening at Launchpad Artspace   Molly Schaper
The Galaxy filled with Kinetic Art Sculptures during a Private Tour   Molly Schaper
Guests inside Beveldom’s Galaxy - the Museum Of Kinetic Art   Molly Schaper
Guests inside Beveldom’s Galaxy - the Museum Of Kinetic Art   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Ned Schaper Leads Private Tour at Mat Bevel Company in Lauchpad Artspace   Molly Schaper
General Box head performing with “The Thought Launcher” kinetic sculpture   Photo by Toshi Ueshina
Admiral Bevel inside the “Blood Vessel” kinetic sculpture   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Major Metamorphosis in the virtual reality tour of the Museum Of Kinetic Art   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
The Creative Forces from the magical world of Beveldom created by artist Ned Schaper   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
New currency!   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
  pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
  pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
  pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Admiral Bevel inside the “Blood Vessel” kinetic sculpture   Photo by Toshi Ueshina
The museum at its former home a.k.a. “The Bevelarium”   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Mechanical butterfly on Broadway Blvd.   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
Artist Ned Schaper Performs “Top Doppler” in the character of The New Non-Prophet during Mat Bevel Company Grand Opening at Launchpad Artspace   Molly Schaper
Characters from Schaper’s one-man show.   pschaper / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In an interview with the radio show Studio 360, artist Ned Schaper said, "Trash is the great medium of our age." We're surrounded by it, he said, so why shouldn't we do something with it?

What he's decided to do with it is create sculptures. Over 100 sculptures created from salvaged items fill Schaper's Museum of Kinetic Art in Tucson, Arizona.

Old rocking horses. Discarded diving boards. An old drum machine. What used to be trash has been repurposed as art by Schaper, a sculptor, poet, and performance artist whose kinetic sculptures were first seen as part of his theater projects and in other exhibitions across the country before settling into their permanent home at the museum in 1983.

Schaper says he doesn't necessarily have a plan when he begins assembling his found materials. Instead, he "look[s] at things that come to me and wait for things to fit together." This results in moveable creations that are unpredictable and unique. The objects aren't just meant for observation, however.  The pieces are transformed from sculpture into sets, props, costumes, and characters for Schaper's one-man theater. The story takes place in the magical world of Beveldom, a "lost land of found objects" where discarded relics from our consumer culture find new life under the guidance of General Belief System Technology Project Expert Mat Bevel.

Update November 2018: Mat Bevel's Museum of Kinetic Art, the Surrealistic Pop Science Theater, and the School of Intuition are no longer available for private tours, special events, or educational classes. They have instead posted videos streaming content available on Facebook.

Related Tags

Museums Collections Art Performances Sculptures Machines Engineering

Know Before You Go

For more information, visit the website, https://www.facebook.com/matbevel or call Paula Schaper at 520-604-6273.

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pschaper

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aribrown, cstern77

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  • cstern77

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November 1, 2017

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  • https://www.facebook.com/matbevel
  • http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2016/11/mat-bevels-museum-of-kinetic-art-puts-a-spin-on-modern-day-art
  • https://www.visittucson.org/business/mat-bevels-museum-kinetic-art?clientid=28084
  • http://tucson.com/entertainment/blogs/caliente-tuned-in/mat-bevel-lights-up-tucson-museum-of-art/article_eed4c62f-2b58-5b26-a828-d6ee1a6f90fc.html
  • https://www.azpm.org/s/9297-kinetic-art-meets-theater-at-mat-bevel-institute/
  • http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2017/03/man-behind-bevel-scientist-among-artists
  • http://www.wnyc.org/story/116573-junk-sculptor/
Mat Bevel's Museum of Kinetic Art & Surrealistic Pop Science Theater
3113 E Columbia St
Tucson, Arizona, 85714
United States
32.173807, -110.925945
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