Terry Poulos Sculptures

Modern-day rendition of the world's oldest computer, the real-life Antikythera Mechanism (c. 205 BC). To our knowledge, the world's first outright, true sculpture that honors the world's oldest computer. The Antikythera Mechanism was a hand-powered astronomical calculator/planetarium consisting of anywhere from 24 to approximately 30 interlocking concentric gears and cogs. It was the most complex man-made instrument ever made until nearly the Renaissance, a fact which demands rewrite on the capabilities of the ancients. The ART-ikythera directly connects Archimedes to the invention of the mechanism by virtue of the symbol for Pi being inscribed on the sculpture base. Also inscribed is a spiral glyph, gleaned from the real-life Archimedes Palimpsest. Another accoutrement is the "eye of Archimedes," a concave mirror which when illuminated casts the illusion of a convex magnifying glass. The shape of the base is a square within a circle, symbolizing how Archimedes "squared the circle" to calculate Pi to the second decimal expansion (3.14). ART-ikythera is an esoteric code generator with clues and ciphers leading to a unique scientific perspective. SPECS: Total of 23 individual pieces, including spot-welded antique and vintage cast-iron gears, cogs and sprockets from used farm implements, antique brass all angle inclinometer (late 19th century), antique padlock...

A time traverse mechanism with antecedents in mythological Atlantis. Legend speaks of a Minoan connection to Atlantis. The time machine's fictional narrative builds upon the latest in archeological finds and a growing body of circumstantial evidence hinting of an advanced society lost to history. Perchance, dare say, one which developed methods defying the very forward arrow of the space time continuum. The Atlantian Continuum narrative tells of it originally being buried in volcanic ash (thereby preserved) after a catastrophic event altered the earth's magnetic polarity. A broken piece of Minoan-Atlantian continental land mass drifted thousands of miles south (based upon recent real-life scholarly posits), further protecting the device in the permafrost of the Antarctic. Metrics of time manipulation employed are aligned with many of Einstein‘s theories including Relativity, Light Quanta, entanglement, curvature of space and infinite time loops. The sculpture portends an original scientific perspective replete with esoteric symbols, equations, formulai and multi-dimensional geometry, all portending a series of radical posits. These heuristic, intuitive theories expand upon the latest cutting-edge scientific, mathematical and philosophical insights into "visiting" the past. SPECS: Vintage spot welded cast-iron gears, cogs, sprockets and other pieces of used farm implements. Total of 49 individual pieces, all antique and vintage dating as far back as 1920. Antique plano-convex glass ball clock housed in brass. Antique brass transit surveyor. Antique brass car oiler. Antique iron padlock...

Modern-day 3-dimensional facsimile of the 1-dimensional mathematical axis spiral found in the ancient manuscript titled the "Archimedes Palimpsest." Sculpture conveys a double entendre with its proprietary version of the universe spiraling through space, evoking Archimedes’ effort to calculate the volume of the universe. The universe is depicted via the vortex spiral and globe as supercooled and superheated, a polar opposite electrical balance of nature. An armillary sphere conveys Archimedes' math treatises on the circle, sphere and cylinder. Included are one vintage pulley and corkscrew (representing the water screw), both honoring Archimedes inventions, and one valve handle. SPECS: Spot-welded seven-foot long vintage iron chain, vintage armillary sphere...