Past Lineups: Makers

Nanananananana Nanananananana...BATMAN! Tom Woodruff is at the top of the Hollywood special effects world. He trained under legend Stan Winston before co-founding the oscar-winning effects studio ADI. This Friend of TwentyWonder worked on movies like Terminator, Aliens, Starship Troopers, Death Becomes Her, Cast Away, and Ender’s Game. For 2014 he brought one of his most popular creations to TwentyWonder, a fully functioning replica of the 1966 Batmobile. Among batmobile aficionados (it’s a thing!), Woodruff’s is considered one the best ever made. Adam West himself has driven it and told Tom it is his favorite. It’s a gorgeous product of a master craftsman. And we can attest that the afterburner is fully functional!

Laura Brody is a costume creator by trade and a functional artist by design and desire. Her Edwardian, cyborg wheelchair “Driven” was included in Dr. Grymm’s 1000 Steampunk Creations. Her one-off creations have been featured on the Super Bowl halftime show, on tour with the Black Eyed Peas, and “on Rihanna’s bottom.” Laura Brody is the type of DIY artist we love having in the TwentyWonder community. In 2011 she invited TwentyWonderers to take part in a live performance draping in which she stapled people into on-the-spot, custom garments made from re-purposed fabrics and trinkets.

LA-based Crashspace has been bringing together hackers, programmers, builders, makers, and artists to their Culver City home since 2009. They describe themselves as, “People who generally like to break things and see what new things we can build with the pieces.” They brought those new things to TwentyWonder 2011 and 2013. Among the highlights was MakerBot, an example of the 3-D printing revolution occuring in manufacturing. Crashspace also invites community members as young as seven to learn computer coding. Their DIY outlook is the kind of attitude that TwentyWonder embraces.

Beau Boeckmann and Galpin Auto Sports brought this morbid, beautiful motorcar to TwentyWonder 2012. DRAG-U-LA, not to be confused with the Rob Zombie song inspired by it—Fun fact though: Rob Zombie was a P.A. On Friend of TwentyWonder Paul Reubens’ hit show Pee Wee’s Playhouse; but now back your previously scheduled sentence—DRAG-U-LA was made popular in the 1960s television show The Munsters. It was designed by Tom Daniel for George Barris, who was also involved in creating the 1966 Batmobile. In Munster TV lore, Grandpa Munster built this 350HP V-8 monster to win back the Munster Koach, which Herman lost while drag racing in the episode “Hot Rod Herman”. Born: 1367. Died: ?

Eric Gradman mixes technology and artistic ambition with a DIY mentality that makes him a perfect addition to the TwentyWonder community. He was a member of Cirque Berzerk, a co-founder of Two Bit Circus, STEAM carnival, and Syyn Labs, the people behind in the video for This Too Shall Pass. This red mohawked wünderkind kicked off the TwentyWonder 2013 Derby Doll doubt with a stirring whistle of the Star Spangled Banner.

Maker supreme. Gregg’s creations include everything from funky chairs collected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York to Burning Man 2013’s Temple of Whollyness. That year, he previewed his Burning Man installation Otic Oasis in the Doll Factory at TwentyWonder. His residence and studio have been located in Culver City for the past fifty years where he works as a designer and architect.

What would a carnival of the mind be without a rocket scientist! Among his many exploits, Deszö collaborated with famed innovator Peter Diamandis’ space-tourism project and served as a judge for the famous X-Prize. This LA-based designer brought a beta version of his G2 flying motorcycle to TwentyWonder 2013. The Gyrocycle used a motorcycle engine for propulsion and rotor blades for lift, allowing it to operate as a motorcycle or take off as a gyrocopter!

Alan Macy is an experimental technical artist involved with Santa Barbara’s Fishbon art community. His latest creation is a chair that allows you to experience subtle aspects of your physiology. Alan’s artistic pursuits are not far removed from his day job designing biomedical monitoring equipment as Director of R&D for BIOPAC Systems. 2014 TwentyWonderers were invited to pull up his chair, take a load off their feet and enjoy their autonomic nervous systems.

Created by Tim Thompson, the Space Palette allows a person to create music and paint images simultaneously. This new and original technology gives the user the experience of painting with sound. No pre-recorded media, sequences, or loops are used – everything is generated in real time by the user’s hands. The Space Palette has appeared at Burning Man 2012, STEIM in Amsterdam, Decompression 2011, and the outstanding Bay Area Maker Faire 2013, which was attended by 120,000 DIY enthusiasts. For TwentyWonder 2013, Tim brought the Space Palette into the Doll Factory, allowing TwentyWonder attendees to compose music and images throughout the night.

Two Bit Circus is a team of more than 25 thinkers, builders, developers, and inventors who have collaborated to create STEAM Carnival, a reimagining of the traditional American carnival into a technological and educational interaction (STEAM=Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). TwentyWonder 2013 featured kinetic sculptures and custom games presented by a trio from Two Bit Circus consisting of Brent Bushnell, Eric Gradman, and Dan Busby—Dan also created TwentyWonder 2013’s A Moveable Feast. And their wooden rocking chair racing game was a hit at TwentyWonder 2014.

Note: Two Bit Circus’ STEAM is a wholly different entity from TwentyWonder 2011’s The League of S.T.E.A.M.. Right, so…no confusion there.