Mat Bevel Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that shares the art, science and philosophy of kinetic sculptor, poet and performer Ned Schaper. We inspire people of all ages to cultivate greater awareness, resourcefulness, ingenuity and purpose through found-object kinetic art, theater, hands-on learning and digital media arts. Our programs draw upon Ned Schaper’s world of Beveldom, and his life-long body of work:

  • Museum Of Kinetic Art—Nearly 100 mechanical sculptures demonstrate how even junk can come back into the flow of creation and find new purpose.
  • Surrealistic Pop Science Theater—A one-man performance celebrates the excitement of creativity with 52 characters, The Three Days of Beveldom narrative and sculptures from the museum choreographed to music, light and poetry.
  • School of Intuition—A kinesthetic learning lab teaches people how to create things of lasting value with original thinking, intuitive problem solving and resourcefulness.
  • Bevelvision Productions—Bevel Café shares the magical world of Beveldom, “the lost land of found objects,” with people everywhere via a new media arts TV show.

For more than thirty years thousands of people have enjoyed Beveldom through Museum Of Kinetic Art tours and Surrealistic Pop Science Theater live productions. In 2014 Ned was given a solo retrospective exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art called Welcome to Beveldom: Mat Bevel’s Museum of Kinetic Art. Ned holds a Bachelor of Science degree in entomology from University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Now Mat Bevel Company is capturing Ned’s ‘kinetic junk theater’ using stop motion animation, time-lapse photography, greenscreen compositing, virtual reality and live video technologies. His work will become a new TV show called Bevel Cafe, fine art entertainment for people of all ages. Supported through an Arizona Commission on the Arts Research & Development grant, he’s currently developing a virtual reality tour of his Museum Of Kinetic Art.

Mat Bevel Company educational programs build students’ creative thinking skills, defined as a flexible and imaginative approach to solving problems, using the world of Beveldom. A new worldbuilding pilot, called The Universe Within, is a grassroots solution to a national creative intelligence deficit that increases student capacity to innovate, problem-solve and navigate unknown situations through original thinking exercises. Students construct an imaginary world of their own and play the part of a central character in their unique world. Students will learn how to create and share their own novel characters, scenarios and plot lines to acquire grade-relevant English language arts listening, writing and speaking skills as well as science-based design, construction and presentation skills.