Goldberg’s Variations

Goldberg’s Variations is suite of 12 classic Rube Goldberg inventions, with video animations and an original cartoon-music soundtrack by clarinetist and filmmaker Andy Biskin.

Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) created his famous inventions between 1915 and 1935. They reflect the popular fascination with technology and gadgetry that began with the Machine Age and comment on our uncontrollable urge to overcomplicate, unpredictably juxtaposing causes and effects from physics, engineering, botany, and human and animal psychology.

In the tradition of the silent film era, Goldberg’s Variations is performed live in a darkened theater. The animations are projected on the silver screen as the band provides live musical accompaniment and instrumental interludes.

Photo credit: Anja Hitzenberger