Artist Bruce Shapiro, who was a previously practicing physician, had always been highly captivated by computerized motion control. This led to the eventual creation of his Sysiphus Machine, a kinetic drawing machine that utilizes magnets and marbles to create elaborate drawings.

The marbles are placed onto a sandy table, and a magnet below that surface is programmed to pull the marbles across the table in geometrically stunning patterns. Don't be fooled by the view presented in the video, this is no small table! Measuring nine feet in diameter, these drawings are significantly larger than you are. The videos below show timelapse footage of the Sysiphus Machine running over a 12-hour span, but was condensed down into a mere couple of minutes.

The machine is aptly named after the character Sysiphus in Greek mythology. Sysiphus was punished for deceitfulness by being tasked with pushing a large boulder up a hill for all eternity, and every time he neared the top of the hill, the boulder would go crashing right back down to the bottom. Shapiro's Sysiphus Machine pays homage to its namesake in the sense that this little "boulder" is pushed around, seemingly endlessly, with no real conclusion or catharsis. Each time the ball in the Sysiphus Machine seems to be completing a pattern, a new pattern begins to form, and so there is no end to the constant push of the machine. The piece stands as a testament to the ideology that process is far more important than conclusion; you cannot get attached to any of the patterns that the Sysiphus Machine creates, they will be gone as quickly as they were formed. You must simply be content with the process unfolding, even though you know each bit of progress will eventually be erased.

If you're anything like me, you might have trouble looking away from these mesmerizing kinetic drawings, so relax your eyes and get lost in this beautiful, visual experience.