(part 3 by Paul Vreede)
If
you still (or again) have a vintage Spirograph set, have a look at the
box (I'd love to show a picture, but I can't seem to find mine
off-hand...). On the side is a list of patents for various countries,
with the noticeable omission of France. The reason for this is what
could be a textbook example of synchronicity: while Denys Fisher in the
UK was developing the Spirograph, René Ach in Paris was inventing
something remarkably similar. And got it patented in France before
Fisher could.
I
don't know if Ach ever had his manufactured, but with Spirograph
obtaining patents everywhere else I wouldn't be surprised if he gave up
on the idea. Nor do I know anything about other inventions I found
patents for, being some geometric lampshades (with fitting to rotate
same), a self-propelled ball, and designs for a new type of ramp-walking
toy figure as well as a motorised walking figure. He also invented a
new type of binding system for document pages.
It
had been my hope to call Monsieur Ach again, and maybe even try a
visit, to learn more about the how and why of his inventions. But sadly,
René Ach passed away some six months after I rang him about his
Acrobates.
Apart
from the inventions in his early life, René Ach taught industrial
design at the Ecole National Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (National
High School for Decorative Arts) in Paris, and had his sculpture studio
in Les Frigos, an artists' colony in a converted cold-storage warehouse.
His amazing and beautiful sculptures are fine examples of kinetic art,
where he applied the same wonderful ingenuity as he did in his toy
inventions.
There's a handful of pictures on his page at Les Frigos' website but even better, there's still an opportunity to see René Ach himself
(with a friend) demonstrating them in an excellent documentary here.
In closing, I'll just say: Adieu Monsieur Ach, et merci pour tous vos merveilleuses réalisations.
Is his 'walker' design anything like the Marx one posted the other night? As that was not quite like the normal Marx walkers and I wonder if he did a deal with them?
ReplyDeleteI don't know for sure, but I don't think so. The Marx walker does seem to walk like other walkers I've seen,on two separate legs that move back and forth.
ReplyDeleteAch's invention has rigid legs forming an integral part with the body, the legs twisting round pivots attached to the feet. The patent actually describes the resulting rather swaying movement as being like a waltz!
Since sadly he's no longer with us, I couldn't ask about the Marx walkers and his involvement with those (or not, as the case may be...)
Best
--
Paul
Thank you for very your interesting work about my father. There has been a movie made recently by Jérôme Plon on René Ach's sculptures.
ReplyDelete