Welcome to: The Robotorium: May 2019

Friday, May 17, 2019

Malevolent Robot Head Post 3

So I finished up wiring the Malevolent Robot. Here is the piece in its nearly finished form. I am thrilled with the way this one came out. The finished product is exactly in keeping with the vision had when I first saw the piece it is based on. May you never look at a Kirby Classic Vacuum cleaner the same way again.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

CAA National Prize Show and My First Sale.

The Cambridge Art Associations National Prize Show opening was last night.There was some fantastic work on display and to be included with such talented people was quite an honor. I also made my first sale! Even before the official opening I was contacted by Steve and Ann about my piece. They saw it as soon as the show went up and loved it. We met at the opening and they couldn't have been a lovelier couple. What I thought was really cool was the fact that they referred to this not as a purchase but an adoption. We all had a really good time and I am thrilled the robot is going to such a good home.

The Display, I got a great Location

The Red Dot! Yippee!

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.