By Andrew Liszewski
LEGO and wood seem to be the preferred mediums for artists who like to incorporate a technical side into their works. And in this case Kagen Schaefer has chosen wood (his preferred medium) to build this incredibly elaborate Pipe Organ Desk. In fact it’s made entirely from wood, including carved wooden screws, and represents more than 3 years of work. And besides being able to play a single octave by pushing in the various drawers, the desk can also be ‘programmed’ so that when a specific sequence of notes is played, a secret compartment will pop open.
When you push in a drawer on the desk the air is directed to one of the organ pipes at the front of the desk, sounding a note. Some of the air is also directed into a pneumatic logic board. The logic board within the desk actually keeps track of the notes played. When it picks up the correct tune it unlocks a very special secret compartment. The logic board, can be reprogrammed to pick up any tune, so at any time the song may be changed to a new tune. It is powered entirely by air, and it is made entirely from solid wood.
I’d also like to point out that the programmable logic board is also completely made of wood. There are no electronics of any kind here. And it probably goes without saying that the desk isn’t available for sale, unless you’re willing to write out a lot of zeros on a check.
(I wish there was a video of it being played too, but I can’t find one.)
[ Kagen Schaefer – The Pipe Organ Desk ] VIA [ UberReview ]
