Matthias Pliessnig talks fast, as if to keep up with a rapid flow of ideas. Movement interests him, whether it's flight, the way a boat cuts through water or the physics of how a seat responds to its sitter.
Recently the 29-year-old sat still long enough for a conversation by the shore of Lake Mendota ("I come here all the time," he says. "I just got bitten by a duck") near the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he's pursuing a graduate degree in furniture design/sculpture. He spoke about his life and work so far, which "definitely includes movement."