Welcome to: The Robotorium: April 2017

Friday, April 28, 2017

The Reclaimed Opening was Great!

Last night was the opening of the Reclaimed Exhibition a the Mosesian Center in Watertown, MA. It was a blast. Hats off to Roberta, Kimberly, Matt and all the other people at the center for doing a great job with the show. I was very happy with the feedback I got, people loved the robots! There were lots of comments on how each one has a clear personality and how much they make people smile, which is exactly what I am going for. Here is the display of my work.

Having never done anything like this I was not sure what to expect, but it was such fun. It was also cool to be able to talk to other artist and get feedback from them. Overall the whole evening was very energizing.

Friday, April 21, 2017

Art Show and Newest Robot

The art exhibition I got into starts this week. It opens Thursday and runs through the first week in July. I'm really looking forward to this. I just finished up this piece and am quite pleased with how it turned out.

This is about 12 inches tall. The head is an old airplane whiskey compass and the body an old electrical meter. The more of these I build the better sense I am getting as to what works well together. My goal is for all the parts to be complementary so that the finished product maintains a look of intentional design and has that "real and used" look.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

I'm in an Art Show - Wow!

Dear Bill ,

On behalf of our juror, Molly Scannell, congratulations! Your submission titled The Robotorium has been selected for the Reclaimed exhibition.

The above is the first few lines of an email I got yesterday regarding 3 of my pieces which made it into a juried art show! As the title says - Wow! The show, Reclaimed, is hosted by the Mosesian Center in Watertown and opens on the 27th of April and runs until 7 July. Getting my work accepted to a juried show is a big deal. There is a huge amount of validation and pride for me in this. Hopefully it his represents a next step in this journey. I'm not sure where it will end up, but this little development is pretty cool. If your near Watertown in the next few months, swing on by and check out the exhibition!

Artists Statement

Robots, the future was supposed to be full of them. I grew up in the shadow of the Apollo program, transfixed as massive machines left Pad 39A, rising on a pillar of fire. I drank up every episode of The Thunderbirds, Star Trek, Creature Double Feature and Dr. Who. I devoured Asimov, Clark and Heinlein. They showed me a future of great adventure and promise, all accompanied by a faithful metal companion; not a Roomba or a self-driving car. While cool, they lack the reassuring yet potentially sinister metal gleam of Robby, or B9 from Lost in Space. They do not lurch from task to task or generate massive electrical arcs. They are not imbued with superhuman strength, and are missing the frightening single-mindedness of Gort or The Terminator.

I have always loved building things. So, given the robotless state of my present, I grabbed a screwdriver and drill and took remnants from the past to make my missing future. I see potential creations in stuff that gets thrown away. I love the machine age look of polished aluminum, wrinkle finished paint, and Bakelite. I look for parts that complement each other. Using cast-offs from a time before transistors, I try to create something with an aesthetic unity. I want my robots to look like they have been used and worked, while broadcasting a personality and sense of presence. I want them to look real, that’s important. Most of all, when I’m done, I want to look at them and laugh. With each creation I get a little closer to the dreams I had as a boy, a little closer to the future I imagined. Step into The Robotorium and let me share with you the way it all could have been.