Check out the latest automaton designed by Matt Smith over at Fourteen Balls Toy Co.! Look at all the mechanisms inside the box!
From the automaton's description:
This is 'Warhol's Cat' the new edition from the Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Designed and made by Matt Smith. The automaton is 150 mm x 100 mm x 230 mm (6" x 4" x 9"). The box is Douglas fir with the mechanism being made of Stainless steel, brass, birch plywood, maple, phosphor bronze and a small amount of Delrin. The cat himself is carved from lime wood and the eyes made from Delrin balls. The mechanism inside the head is made from brass, phosphor bronze and spring steel.The Campbell’s soup tin is a solid piece of steel with a label printed from a hand painted original by Sarah Smith ). The mechanism comprises two brass ratchets and three camshafts, with a fairly complex sequence .
The Woodworking Projects & Plans site features an interview with British automaton-maker Matt Smith of Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Smith started in the 1980s working in collaboration with one of the other great names in contemporary automata, Paul Spooner. Working on his own now, Smith continues to make ingenious, humorous automata. He accepts many large commissions for public spaces such as the one shown here. In the photo above, the artist poses next to a piece titled The Gun Factory at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which features five different scenes and numerous figures in motion.
According to Smith, his pieced titled The Boneshakers (above) may be his favorite. The automaton depicts three skeleton cyclists being chased by a dog. In turn, each skeleton spins its heads to see if the dog is still in pursuit.
This short film features the many collections of Richard Garriott de Cayeux -- video game developer, entrepreneur, and space traveler. Garriott built Britannia Manor to serve as his observatory, home, and occasionally, a giant interactive haunted house. An avid collector of amazing and unusual objects, Garriott's home could fairly be classified as a museum. In this film, magician Brad Henderson from Austin, Texas takes you through this extraordinary collection, room by room.
Among the countless wonders and secret passages, you will find a collection of historic space-related artifacts in Garriott's office, complete with one of the original Sputnik satellites. In the dungeon, you can stare in awe at the shrunken heads and vampire hunting kits. In the laboratory, you will find esoteric scientific instruments and orreries, mechanical models of the planets moving around the sun.
I know you guys will be most interested in Garriott's automata collection, featuring antiques as well works by almost all of the modern makers. The automata collection, vast as it is, can only be covered in part, but you do get to see the works of three artists who surely deserve the limelight.
First, you see Paul Spooner's inimitable wit and ingenuity play out in his Sex Change Machine and Poisoned Milk automaton. The mechanism that makes the cat's tongue seem to lap up the spilled milk is a fine example of Spooner's cleverness.
Next, you get a close-up view of the Argentinian artist Pablo Lavezzari's piece Facing a Fake Foe -- a detailed automaton-within-an-automaton depicting a knight fighting a dragon. The dragon, as it turns out, is a fake controlled by a small demon figure. The piece is also notable for its mechanically produced dragon roar sound effect.
Finally, you are shown a few of the macabre and magical automata created by Thomas Kuntz. Kuntz hand sculpts each of the figures and scratch builds the all of the mechanical elements for his pieces, often on vintage watchmaker's lathes. His autoamta seem to be the direct descendants of the most exquisite automata of centuries past. His piece titled L'Oracle du Mort is a modern masterpiece, featuring an oracle who -- with the help of two imps, the Grim Reaper, and a burst of real flame -- will answer your questions.
Amidst so many incredible automata, and artists whom I hold in the highest esteem, I'm dazed and delighted that one of my own pieces made it into the footage. A Dug North original, titled The Birthing Engine is shown and mentioned early on. I couldn't be more pleased.
This film is rare look at one of the finest collections of contemporary automata in existence. I am glad it was made and I am glad to have had the chance to share it with you.
We've just had news from autoamta-maker Matt Smith regarding the latest new edition from the Fourteen Balls Toy Co. which is shown in the video above. A boy watches and directs as a tiny model train spins in circles around him. Periodically, the train whistle blows, powered by a bellows in the automaton's compact base. The mechanical boy has his own mechanical toy. It's a delightful piece!
An ingenious new piece from the Fourteen Balls Toy Company. Three skeleton cyclists are being chased by a dog. In turn they turn their heads to see if he is still in pursuit, tongue wagging! Matt Smith's new exhibit design has a tremendous sequence and meticulous workmanship. An exquisite collectors piece,
Here's where you can see more pictures of The Boneshakers automaton.
Here we see the things that make automata from Fourteen Balls Toy Company (this one designed and made by Matt Smith): mechanical mastery, excellent carving, incredible attention to detail, subtle motions, and wonderful humor.
Late last month I got word from Matt Smith at Fourteen Balls Toy Company that they would be making some new editions of classic Fourteen Balls automata. Among the editions to be made are:
Here is a nice Flickr set of photographs of a nice private collection of contemporary automata. There are large photos of the pieces. Particularly well-represented are the artists Jan Zalud, Keith Newstead, and Paul Spooner/Matt Smith.
Shown here is The Council Counsellor, by Paul Spooner and Matt Smith of Fourteen Balls Toy.
Here's a video of a classic from 14 Balls Toy Company. The piece was designed by Paul Spooner and made by Matt Smith. How to Swim cleverly animates a swimmer whose legs kick, arms rotate, and head turns. Notice that everything on the swimmer moves at the right pace. Brilliant.
Here's the link to the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre page for How to Swim
Here is a short video clip of The Miser's Deathbed automaton by two of my favorite artists - Paul Spooner and Matt Smith. The video gives you a sense of the humorous scene. Timing is everything!
The Automata / Automaton Blog is pleased to present you with Japanese automaton artist Kazu Harada.
After studying Art History at in college, Kazu worked mainly as a computer operator. He started making automata as a hobby in 2002. Last September, he traveled to England "to meet great automata makers and develop my automata making skills".
Kazu chose his destination wisely; he has been apprenticing with The Fourteen Balls Toy Company -- under master automata makers Paul Spooner and Matt Smith -- while studying at Falmouth University.
Here is a nice Flickr set of photographs of a nice private collection of contemporary automata. There are large photos of the pieces. Particularly well-represented are the artists Jan Zalud, Keith Newstead, and Paul Spooner/Matt Smith.
