Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the work of the artist Edward Ihnatowicz (1926-1988), describing his approach to his artistic practice and his major works (including sound-activated mobile, The Senster and The Bandit) and to examine how he achieved his aim of making his cybernetic sculptures move in an elegant way despite working with severely limited computational resources. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses documentary research of the artist's private papers together with interviews with family and collaborators. Implementation of computer simulations of approaches to generating elegant motion. Findings – The paper presents a comprehensive description of Ihnatowicz's work. A simple algorithm for generating elegant motion. Originality/value – The paper is of historical value in documenting the work of an early cybernetic pioneer who had a unique approach to his artistic practice. The lessons learned from his installations are of relevance to current artists and designers who are interested in designing interactive environments.