Amazing gallery exhibition of contemporary fine art automata in San Francisco

Artwork by Tom Haney

I am thrilled to tell you about an upcoming show at Heron Arts titled Perpetual Motion: Contemporary Interpretations of Fine Art Automata.

It is hard to believe, but this will be among the first gallery exhibition of contemporary fine art automata in the United States.  The group show features eleven well known kinetic sculpture artists.

From the press release:

Curated by Heron Arts director Noah Antieau and Atlanta-based automata artist Tom Haney, exhibiting artists were chosen based on their craftsmanship and lifetime dedication to this artistic medium. Exhibiting artists include: David Archer (AUS), Chris Fitch (USA), Nemo Gould (USA), Tom Haney (USA), Thomas Kuntz (USA), Pat Keck (USA), Richard Landon (USA), Paul Spooner (UK), and husband and wife collaborators Dean Lucker and Ann Wood (USA).

Now THAT is an impressive list of names! You will not want to miss this one.

Here is a nice article about the show that was recently released by SF Station. Here is a recent blog post about the show by Tom Haney.

What:
Perpetual Motion: Contemporary Interpretations of Fine Art Automata

Where:
Heron Arts
7 Heron St, SF, CA 94103

When:
Opens on April 16th, 2016 with a reception from 6-9pm and runs through May 14th, 2016

Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday 3-7pm and by appointment

Website Info:
heronarts.com

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AutomataCon - Event for automata artists and enthusiasts a huge success

The first automaton-themed convention, AutomataCon, took place last weekend in Morristown, New Jersey. The event brought together hundreds of artists, collectors, historians, educators, and enthusiasts of automata and other forms of kinetic art. I haven't been to many conventions, but I can say that this one was truly great.

The two day event was held at the lovely the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey. If you haven't visited the museum you might wonder why the convention was held there. The reason is straightforward and compelling: it is home to the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata -- one of the largest and important collections of its kind. Attendees could view the collection throughout the course of the event.

The stated goal of the convention was to gather people from around the world to share ideas, build relationships, and grow interest in automata new and old. In my personal experience, that is precisely what happened. There was a lot of energy all around as people met one another and shared projects, knowledge, and ideas.

The convention programming was outstanding, with two parallel tracks which ensured that there was something for people with different interests and experience levels. I was pleased to be part of two panel discussions. The first was a question and answer session with modern artists who included Tom Haney, Thomas Kuntz, Steve Armstrong, and Cecilia Schiller. The second panel was on the use of horological tools and techniques for making automata. This panel included Brittany Nicole Cox, Thomas Kuntz, and David Lindow. I am honored to have sat beside each and every one of these panelists. Other presentations at the conference included a rare film and talks on restoration, history, magic, and the making of automata.

The event included some very big names from many fields and universal enthusiasm. It was a unique, educational, and inspiring event. I would do it all over again in a hearbeat. Hats off to event founder Brett King for his good work. Thanks to Jere Ryder and the Morris Museum for being key partners is this extraordinary event. Thanks also to the panelists who made the event so fun and informative. Finally, thank you to everyone who attended. You made the event great.

If you want to share an experience from AutomataCon, I encourage you to leave a comment below.

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Matthew Rolston "Talking Heads" -- photographic portraits of ventrioloquist dummies

Diane Rosenstein Fine Art in Los Angeles has announced Talking Heads -- a solo exhibition of  photographs by Matthew Rolston. The show centers around large format photographic portraits of ventriloquist dummies. Each shot was done in the same manner, so that it is only the differences in the dummies that stand out.

From the exhibition description:

Matthew Rolston: Talking Heads will present monumental color portraits of dummies chosen from a collection of nearly seven hundred ventriloquists dolls (dating from 1820 – 1980) housed at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. In 2010, Rolston set up a portrait studio at the museum and photographed each of his subjects in an identical manner: square format, low angle, monochromatic backdrop, and a single light source.

Here is where you can read a and article on artdaily.com about the Talking Heads exhibition.

What
Talking Heads by Matthew Rolston

When
June 7 - July 12, 2014

Where
Diane Rosenstein Fine Art
831 North Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90038
+1.323.397.9225
info@dianerosenstein.com

[ Thanks Michael! ]

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The Wonderful mechanical world of Rowland Emett

A good friend to The Automata Blog, Richard Partington, wrote to inform us that there is a great exhibition of the legendary Rowland Emett's work at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Emett (1906 – 1990) was an English cartoonist and creator of whimsical kinetic sculpture. The current exhibition of his work is the biggest there has ever been in the UK. That's not something to miss! The video above is from a different exhibition held at the Ontario Science Centre back in 2012.

What:
Marvellous Machines: The Wonderful World of Rowland Emett

Where:
The Birmingham Museum

When:
May 10th, 2014 to September 21st, 2014

[ Thanks Richard! ]

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Moving-eyed monster clock by Dug North now on display

I combined my love of clocks with my affinity for wooden monsters to create this new piece. The monster is made of basswood, ebony, and tagua nut. A small weight-driven German-made clock movement powers the eyes and clock. It is titled simply "Monster Clock No. 1", which implies I may be making more of these!

The monster clock is part of an art exhibition titled "All Creatures, Real & Imagined" at The Arts League of Lowell Gallery in Lowell, Massachusetts. The show runs from June 6th to July 13th. The Reception for the show will be Saturday, June 21 from 4 PM to 6 PM. The piece can be purchased from the gallery at this time.

What
All Creatures, Real & Imagined

Where
The Arts League of Lowell Gallery
307 Market Street, Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: 978-221-5018

When
June 6th to July 13th, 2014
Wednesday - Saturday: 12 - 6 PM
Sunday: 12 - 4 PM

Here is where you can see more work by automaton artist Dug North.

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The Mission - a contemporary automaton by Paul Spooner

Check out this wonderful piece by Paul Spooner which may be seen in the special exhibition at the Paul Gugelmann-Museum in Schönenwerd, Switzerland from May 31st to July 6th, 2014.

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Machine Muse: Kinetic sculpture exhibition in Santa Monica, California

Kinetic sculptor Jim Jenkins wrote to share the announcement of an exhibition that opened on November 16th. The exhibition was co-curated by Dave Quick and Jenkins, who together co-authored a national survey of kinetic sculpture in the 1980s entitled Motion Motion Kinetic Art (Peregrine Smith Books, 1989). The show is located in Santa Monica, California and will be open until January 5th.

What:
MACHINE MUSE exhibition

Where:
Lois Lambert Gallery
Bergamot Station
2525 Michican Ave. E - 3
Santa Monica, CA 90404

When:
November 16th, 2013 to January 5, 2014

For more information visit www.loislambertgallery.com.

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‘The Flooded Arena’, an incredible clockwork automaton somewhere in London

If you are in London, and brave as well as determined, you should find your way to this exhibition and show. It's an installation based on Mark Ferelli's automaton, The Flooded Arena. He has worked on this for a decade and it has many impressive movements as the gladiator circles the flailing serpent. The exhibit is in Deptford in London. I am informed that many would consider it to be on the "wrong" side of the river, but that it is simply incredible.

From an article on the exhibit:

Surrounded by numerous working drawings, illustrating the ways and mysteries of its creation, Ferelli presents 'The Flooded Arena', a clockwork automaton, owing as much in character to those past mechanical creations of antiquity from Hero of Alexandria, Salomon de Caus, the genius of Arabia’s own 'Golden Age', Al-Jazari, as it does the fantastic cinema of Korda’s 'Thief of Baghdad' and the 'Sinbad' movies of Ray Harryhausen.

Mythology, music, darkness, clockwork powered and lit by magic lantern. Sounds pretty good to me! If you have more details on how exactly how to find this exhibit, leave a comment or send me a note. It appears to be at the offices of DIVUS, which according the article below are located at Enclave 5, 50 Resolution Way London.

Here is an article about the exhibit.

[ Thanks Michael! ]

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