The World of Kinetic Art: A Conversation with Andrey Chang and His Unconventional Vehicles

As we step inside Jeff Dunham's garage, we're immediately struck by the sheer eccentricity of his latest creation. Amidst the sea of unusual vehicles, one car stands out in particular - the Velaryon. This behemoth of a machine stretches 27 feet long, weighs three tons, and is powered by a Ford Coyote V8 engine. Its stainless steel body is a work of art, with intricate details that make it a true masterpiece.

But what sets this car apart from your average vehicle? According to Andrey Chang, the mastermind behind the Velaryon, "I'm not a mechanic, I'm a fabricator." Chang's background in computer programming led him down a path of artistic expression, and his vehicles are a testament to his creativity. "I wanted to do a sculptural exhaust rail that sounds like one of those options," he says with a chuckle. The result is 31 exhaust pipes that create a unique sound, akin to a symphony of bows.

As we explore the garage, we notice that Chang's creations are not just functional art pieces - they're also conversation starters. "I wanted to build something that starts conversations," he explains. And it seems his approach has paid off. Jeff Dunham, the comedian and longtime friend of Chang's, walks into the garage with a grin on his face. "This is the greatest spectacle on the strip," he exclaims, as if introducing us to a new favorite performer.

Chang's love of kinetic art - that which moves and responds to its environment - is evident in every aspect of his work. For him, the key to creating truly exceptional art lies not in explanation, but in experience. "If a piece of art has to be explained too much, then it's not good," he says with a smile. The Velaryon is no exception - as we drive it around the block, its exhaust pipes create a mesmerizing soundscape that draws attention from passersby.

As we take the Velaryon for a spin, Dunham can't help but comment on its sheer size and complexity. "This thing is like nothing I've ever seen before," he says with awe. Chang laughs good-naturedly, "I knew if I built something that was cool, it's just the funnest thing there." And indeed, the Velaryon is an experience unlike any other - a true masterpiece of kinetic art.

As we come to a stop, Dunham turns to us and says, "You know what would make this whole experience even better? A show!" Chang nods in agreement, and before long, we find ourselves at the Chippendales show, blending in with the crowd as we take in the spectacle. It's a fitting end to our visit with Andrey Chang - a man who has spent his life crafting art that moves and inspires, rather than static pieces that simply exist.

As we make our way back out into the night air, Dunham turns to us once more. "You know, I think this is just the beginning of something big," he says with a smile. Chang nods in agreement - indeed, it seems Andrey's life's work will be on full display next year. Until then, we're left to ponder the sheer genius of the Velaryon, and the man behind its creation. One thing is for certain: Andrey Chang has truly found his calling as a sculptor of kinetic art, bringing people to their house - or in this case, on the road - where art comes alive.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enJeff how you doing Jay good to see you thanks for coming on again I don't how you got in here let's start with this what do you have here this is not the daily driver no yeah this is the Achmed 'mobile right from your act from my show yeah one of my specials controlled chaos I wanted Achmed to have a car so I searched for a monster type car online and it was pretty much just like this except for the skull so the skull is all my doing I took a 3d scanner scanned a little bobblehead I had and then took a 3d printer and printed this thing in six sections and then put the thing together use a little fiberglass and now it's pretty much the air intake so it's the carburetor so every time you hit the throttle it yes all right and a tank attack well technically if you call this a tank the tank guys will get mad yeah it's a ferret Scout car and I guess what defines a tank is the fact that it should have treads but it has tires and wheels on it but this thing is street-legal and this is really fun to drive them yeah I would imagine yeah this is just the thing you want to pull up in front of the embassy with now this one I don't know this like some sort of surf mobile a calico surfer yeah I know you're a big surf guy it's my life I understand George Barris built this for the guy that started surf magazine in the early 60s but we got this at an auction and when the auction started on this one a guy in the middle of the audience that was bidding had a heart attack and plopped down in the aisle the guy that was bidding for me actually stepped over the guy that had the heart attack there there with the defibrillators are trying to bring him back he didn't die he was fine you know but nobody's paying attention is that my guy I got this thing for next to nothing well luckily the guy had a heart attack well I should send him something well what a wonderful story lovely story and to this day still the best Batmobile the first generation based on the 1956 I think Ford for sure yeah when this is just a replica but it's one of the nicest replicas as I understand in the country and everything works all the tories work on it but it's from the same mould from the original Batmobile now this is the one we used in the show last year yep the Keaton Batmobile and this unlike this which is a replica this was actually used in the production of Batman Returns if there's one underlying theme to your collection seems to be George Barris were you a big when you were kid you know I knew nothing about cars when I was a kid my father was not a car guy so it was until I got a little older and it can afford to buy in cars that I really started paying attention what appeals to me is when cars start conversations in other words if somebody pulls up in a land bore for re at a gas pump you know who that guy is if the guy pulls up in a frickin gremlin or in a what a DeLorean you you might feel a little easier about yeah but you can talk to that guy yeah right because those cars start conversations you know Jeff's garage is pretty unconventional but I think he's got room for just one more off-the-wall car you know I got a guy for you he builds exactly the kind of car I think you would like you want a car that starts conversations follow me wait you see this you're gonna love this wait a minute are we in Vegas never mind where we are just come inside this is really weird it's pretty cool actually that's pretty cool but it's kind of on oh hey nice job penny how are you Andrey Chang is pretty much the definition of outside the box with an education in computer programming he felt unfulfilled and basically flipped the script and set out to be an artist and a musician instead and everything he makes well it's about as eccentric as he is that's incredible workshop you got here I like this sort of I don't know whether it's the soul of an artist with the mind of an engineer or vice versa but it's kind of what you've got going here and then a little bit I know that it's all related though I brought him here because he has some of the most unusual vehicles I don't have anything quite like this no that's really incredible the velaryon steal cars Henry's latest piece of drivable art its massive stainless steel body stretches out 27 feet long weighs three tons and is powered by a Ford coyote v8 engine it's like I've ever seen before this really is a classic example of kinetic art work it's art work that moves it goes up and down things spin things turn I've done both the kinetic and Static art and people gravitate towards the kinetic a lot more what do you see this more as art or do you see it more as a car I see it more as as art I was just thinking that if you've walked in this was just sitting here and it didn't go anywhere and do anything it would still be unbelievably beautiful and amazing but the fact you can get in and driving away makes it even more fantastic to me if a piece of art has to be explained too much then it's not good you guys both been comedians if you have to explain a joke too much right you see the guy went into the bar yeah so what was the biggest challenge in putting this whole thing together the thing that was mysterious to me was the drivetrain yes I'm not a mechanic I'm a fabricator somebody walks up and they go why did you build this why did you build it I knew I was gonna have a lot of fun with it or Bernie Mac I knew if I built something that was cool it's just the funnest thing there Wow see that's what I'm talking about I wanted to do a sculptural exhaust rail that sounds like one of those options well who wants a sculptural exhaust array it's gonna cost you okay fine and that's what that is and how many exhaust pipes are there there's 31 it ends up sounding different than nearly any other car you also get it in surround sound like it goes bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow can you fire it up yeah Oh fantastic yeah you're right it's like no exhaust you ever heard because it's coming from this way and not right here that is really interesting any chance we can take this alright yeah I think wait we gotta look the part we have to look the part right back well this settles it I'm gonna keep up on the propecia you look like the good kid to join the gang and got the Mohawk and then wound up getting killed you know what I mean look like oh that's disappointing should we go see a show now we are a show now Chippendales coming to town so now that were unrecognizable it's time to blend in with a crowd and show this thing off you got it I guess I'm not as incognito as I thought background believe me all this hooting and hollering is not for Dunham and me even in Vegas this car is the greatest spectacle on the strip this is pretty amazing we're actually driving this thing I know it's funny I just think it's just amazing all your hard work your life and your careers led to this that's right right one deer on top of the world and now here we are here we are Oh when you're talking to President Kings neck pain started a sculptor in a puppet master how do you think I feel she instead of bringing people to their houses here art you drive your art to their house there is no fantastic this has got Dunham written all over it Jeff Dunham has got a home one of these this time next year I guarantee it see you guys later Jay Leno's Garage all new Wednesday at 10:00Jeff how you doing Jay good to see you thanks for coming on again I don't how you got in here let's start with this what do you have here this is not the daily driver no yeah this is the Achmed 'mobile right from your act from my show yeah one of my specials controlled chaos I wanted Achmed to have a car so I searched for a monster type car online and it was pretty much just like this except for the skull so the skull is all my doing I took a 3d scanner scanned a little bobblehead I had and then took a 3d printer and printed this thing in six sections and then put the thing together use a little fiberglass and now it's pretty much the air intake so it's the carburetor so every time you hit the throttle it yes all right and a tank attack well technically if you call this a tank the tank guys will get mad yeah it's a ferret Scout car and I guess what defines a tank is the fact that it should have treads but it has tires and wheels on it but this thing is street-legal and this is really fun to drive them yeah I would imagine yeah this is just the thing you want to pull up in front of the embassy with now this one I don't know this like some sort of surf mobile a calico surfer yeah I know you're a big surf guy it's my life I understand George Barris built this for the guy that started surf magazine in the early 60s but we got this at an auction and when the auction started on this one a guy in the middle of the audience that was bidding had a heart attack and plopped down in the aisle the guy that was bidding for me actually stepped over the guy that had the heart attack there there with the defibrillators are trying to bring him back he didn't die he was fine you know but nobody's paying attention is that my guy I got this thing for next to nothing well luckily the guy had a heart attack well I should send him something well what a wonderful story lovely story and to this day still the best Batmobile the first generation based on the 1956 I think Ford for sure yeah when this is just a replica but it's one of the nicest replicas as I understand in the country and everything works all the tories work on it but it's from the same mould from the original Batmobile now this is the one we used in the show last year yep the Keaton Batmobile and this unlike this which is a replica this was actually used in the production of Batman Returns if there's one underlying theme to your collection seems to be George Barris were you a big when you were kid you know I knew nothing about cars when I was a kid my father was not a car guy so it was until I got a little older and it can afford to buy in cars that I really started paying attention what appeals to me is when cars start conversations in other words if somebody pulls up in a land bore for re at a gas pump you know who that guy is if the guy pulls up in a frickin gremlin or in a what a DeLorean you you might feel a little easier about yeah but you can talk to that guy yeah right because those cars start conversations you know Jeff's garage is pretty unconventional but I think he's got room for just one more off-the-wall car you know I got a guy for you he builds exactly the kind of car I think you would like you want a car that starts conversations follow me wait you see this you're gonna love this wait a minute are we in Vegas never mind where we are just come inside this is really weird it's pretty cool actually that's pretty cool but it's kind of on oh hey nice job penny how are you Andrey Chang is pretty much the definition of outside the box with an education in computer programming he felt unfulfilled and basically flipped the script and set out to be an artist and a musician instead and everything he makes well it's about as eccentric as he is that's incredible workshop you got here I like this sort of I don't know whether it's the soul of an artist with the mind of an engineer or vice versa but it's kind of what you've got going here and then a little bit I know that it's all related though I brought him here because he has some of the most unusual vehicles I don't have anything quite like this no that's really incredible the velaryon steal cars Henry's latest piece of drivable art its massive stainless steel body stretches out 27 feet long weighs three tons and is powered by a Ford coyote v8 engine it's like I've ever seen before this really is a classic example of kinetic art work it's art work that moves it goes up and down things spin things turn I've done both the kinetic and Static art and people gravitate towards the kinetic a lot more what do you see this more as art or do you see it more as a car I see it more as as art I was just thinking that if you've walked in this was just sitting here and it didn't go anywhere and do anything it would still be unbelievably beautiful and amazing but the fact you can get in and driving away makes it even more fantastic to me if a piece of art has to be explained too much then it's not good you guys both been comedians if you have to explain a joke too much right you see the guy went into the bar yeah so what was the biggest challenge in putting this whole thing together the thing that was mysterious to me was the drivetrain yes I'm not a mechanic I'm a fabricator somebody walks up and they go why did you build this why did you build it I knew I was gonna have a lot of fun with it or Bernie Mac I knew if I built something that was cool it's just the funnest thing there Wow see that's what I'm talking about I wanted to do a sculptural exhaust rail that sounds like one of those options well who wants a sculptural exhaust array it's gonna cost you okay fine and that's what that is and how many exhaust pipes are there there's 31 it ends up sounding different than nearly any other car you also get it in surround sound like it goes bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow can you fire it up yeah Oh fantastic yeah you're right it's like no exhaust you ever heard because it's coming from this way and not right here that is really interesting any chance we can take this alright yeah I think wait we gotta look the part we have to look the part right back well this settles it I'm gonna keep up on the propecia you look like the good kid to join the gang and got the Mohawk and then wound up getting killed you know what I mean look like oh that's disappointing should we go see a show now we are a show now Chippendales coming to town so now that were unrecognizable it's time to blend in with a crowd and show this thing off you got it I guess I'm not as incognito as I thought background believe me all this hooting and hollering is not for Dunham and me even in Vegas this car is the greatest spectacle on the strip this is pretty amazing we're actually driving this thing I know it's funny I just think it's just amazing all your hard work your life and your careers led to this that's right right one deer on top of the world and now here we are here we are Oh when you're talking to President Kings neck pain started a sculptor in a puppet master how do you think I feel she instead of bringing people to their houses here art you drive your art to their house there is no fantastic this has got Dunham written all over it Jeff Dunham has got a home one of these this time next year I guarantee it see you guys later Jay Leno's Garage all new Wednesday at 10:00\n"