Welcome to: The Robotorium: Donation Robot

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Donation Robot

I'm working on a large robot based on an idea that Kimberly Thompson, The Director of Exhibitions and Studios, at the Mosesian Center, floated by me. She suggested a Donation Robot to use as part of fund-raising events. It would help make donating fun and generate some advertising for me. I liked the idea and have been working it steadily. Here is what I have so far.

I got the body from a guy in Northfield MA (thanks Zach!). Nothing like driving 90 miles to get a free piece of junk from someone you never met. The body is an old dental x-ray machine, the head is an old electric fence transformer. Now I need to figure out the arms and how to make it a little more interactive, but I love what I have to date.

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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.