Welcome to: The Robotorium: Third Place in the Analog/Digital show!

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Third Place in the Analog/Digital show!

Fortune smiled on me on Friday when Angus was chosen for the third place award at the opening to the Analog/Digital Art Show at the Beacon Gallery. The opening was really fun and there was a fantastic selection of art. Christine O'Donnell, the gallery owner, did a great job setting the show up and could not be a better host, she really has a great eye for art and design. I love the way people respond to the robots. Its fun to watch someone notice them and then smile or laugh. The feedback I got was all very positive, but to have the event capped off by the third place award was particularly cool.

Angus and FDR ME with the display

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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.