Crip Buzz: Spider Chair


Playa CrawlerArt begets art, especially at the Burning Man festival where Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest — walking mechanisms made of PVC that often resemble giant insects — inspired sculptor Mark Ellis’ own Playa Crawler, which looks like a mutant spider mount. You’ve probably seen one or two videos showing Ellis strolling along in his invention. Or scurrying, or whatever spider chairs do.

While probably not the future of wheelchairs — although, who knows — it might be fun to play Dr. Loveless for a day. Meanwhile, it’s not designed for people with disabilities at all. Ellis just wanted to ride something cooler than his bike around the desert art festival.

Although his sparsely funded project has been languishing on GoFundMe for two years now, a new video of his spider chair by LiveStrong’s Jess Barron is making the rounds. Look for Ellis as @everfalling on Twitter, and find videos at @ThePlayaCrawler on Facebook or GoFundMe.Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest — walking mechanisms made of PVCsunset playa chair


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