Die Weltmaschine
2016

Between 1958 and 1981, the Styrian farmer Franz Gsellmann (*1910) constructed a “machine without purpose.” With little formal education and bound to the family farm, he nurtured a lifelong fascination with electricity and mechanics. The machine was rarely shown during his lifetime. While it may be understood in relation to kinetic art—typically associated with more elite contexts—its origins lie in the rural environment of Eastern Styria, which shaped Gsellmann’s life and imagination. His only journey abroad took him to the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels to see the Atomium; shortly after, he began work on the machine.