Research Task: Heath Robinson and the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre

For this research task I am to look at Heath Robinson and some artist involved in the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre and make some observations and comparisons of their works.

Heath Robinson

Heath Robinson's work is intricate, detailed and includes people interacting with devices humorously. A piece of work I found of his that I really like, is this watercolour image of 'Aerial Life'- it shows the environment of this device and the people moving with it, showing the complexity of the machines.

1

The designs are very satirical and fun, there's a lot of charm to the inventions and the interaction between the characters and designs. I love how the designs are bizarre but not completely impossible-- it's funny to see the following illustration since it's something I can see people doing online as a joke to other bystanders.

2

Arthur Ganson

Ganson's sculptures/inventions are interesting, very technical but feels a little empty/cold. They're practically made, very deep and drawn from personal experiences and own artistic deep thoughts. It's very intricate and makes you focus on that moment, it lets your mind wander to the moment that Ganson wants you to feel. A piece I've seen is 'The Thinking Chair', based on his reflection of his time doing walking meditation.

3

Keith Newstead

Newstead has lots of warmth and character in his displays, very rounded and and similar to Heath Robinson's work in it's charming attributes, it's very colourful and soft. The piece I found very amusing is the 'The Foundling Museum' piece he made for a commission, where two children play music (poorly) while a dog whines out and the pictures in the back move; it's satirical and funny-- and full of character!

4

Kazuaki Harada

Harada work is very characteristic, well-rounded sculptures and simplicity in appearance. Harada's works are inspired by poems, novels and life. They're warm in nature, calming and resembles a classic children's toy, making it feel youthful. The light wood enhances that warmth and reminds me of the beautiful works of Hayao Miyazaki, pauses in time to reflect on something simplistic and calming. My favourite being 'The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, "based on a novel, “Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige” by Selma Lagerlöf."5

Comparisons and thoughts

William Heath Robinson fully fleshed illustrations with lots of intricacy, detail and with characters interacting with it. It's humorous and warm, very pleasing to look at. While, Arthur Ganson's work is a little more deep with reflections on spirituality and life; the sculptures initially feeling a little bleak and cold because of all the machinery being exposed- unlike the next two artists. Keith Newstead resembles that of "children's" style (children's books), it's warm and rounded wit other worldly characters, which reminds me of the movie Kubo and the Two Strings. Kazuaki Harada is peaceful, rounded (like Keith Newstead), clean-cut and warm. It's parts are hidden when possible and the wood is warm, the wires are either copper or gold painted to keep that warmth throughout. Contrast to Arthur Ganson's work, with wires and machinery being exposed and all these dark metals showing, Harada's work is really charming and really reflects the beauty of life.

to these scenes, all of them reminds me of the movie 'Kubo and the Two Strings'; in the behind the scenes you see how they used different technicalities to create different scenes. The most notable ones at that are the grand fighting sequences; one in which is a water scene so they made a rig using a variety of materials with copper wires that roll shower curtains and other materials. Another impressive moment is the eyeball creature that moved in the same movement as a bowling ball- making the characters smoother in movement. 7

I went down a rabbit hole, I explored movie making further and remember seeing 'Isle of Dogs' by Wes Anderson, seeing how they create the puppets for the animators to use them. It's so interesting to see how all of these people made different contraptions to bring imagination to life, it's really inspiring to see and I would love to use this influence into the next assignment.

A very famous artist who creates inventions, is the great Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist and an inventor on top of an artist, creating dramatic work and interesting inventions 8-- some of the interesting inventions became practical items that we use today like, parachutes, self-supporting bridges and diving suits. 9 Da Vinci even created a whole town with a whole "prefigured modern plumbing" and with levels, an incredible design which I would love to made today. 10

Evaluation

This research task was really interesting to explore, I never really thought of sculpture and inventions as art until now- I did get side-tracked with talking about animators and puppeteers, Keith Newstead and Kazuaki Harada really reminded me of the movies and I wanted to look further on how they brought their movies to life. It was interesting to see where different artists got their inspiration from and their different styles.

I'm really intrigued with how I'll take this segment into the next assignment, I like Kazuaki Harada, Keith Newstead's style and Heath Robinson execution; I'm really looking forward to my assignment.

1 U/A, Meisterdrucke 'Aerial life' by William Heath Robinson, U/A. https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/William-Heath-Robinson/147362/Aerial-Life.html Accessed Jan 27 2024

2 F Lucarelli, Socks 'William Heath Robinson's Wacky Inventions', Nov 7, 2016. https://socks-studio.com/2016/11/07/william-heath-robinsons-wacky-inventions/ Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

3 Arthur Ganson, Youtube 'Thinking Chair - Arthur Ganson', Jan 9, 2009. https://www.arthurganson.com/thinking-chair Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

4 Keith Newstead, Youtube 'The Fondling Museum Donations Box', Dec 1, 2016. https://youtu.be/hMhJNkQp_pY?list=TLGGIIba6jDN4ncyNzAxMjAyNA Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

5 Kazuaki Harada, 'The Wonderful Adventures of Nils', Oct 18, 2020. https://nizo.jp/?p=59180 Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

6 kazuaki harada, YouTube 'Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige', Feb 3, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X1GpDlIkbI&t=54s Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

7 FilmisNow Movie Blooper..., YouTube 'Kubo and the Two Strings 'Creating the VFX' featurette (2016)', Aug 10, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDhxQloX5wc Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

8 U/A, Museum of Science 'Da Vinci- The Genius', U/A. https://www.mos.org/leonardo/node/1#:~:text=Who%20Was%20Leonardo%20Da%20Vinci,life%2C%20including%20art%20and%20music. Accessed Jan 27, 2024.

9 J Bauckham, History Hit '10 of Leonardo da Vinci's Most Important Inventions', Jan 26, 2021. https://www.historyhit.com/leonardo-da-vincis-most-important-inventions/ Accessed Jan 27th 2024.

10 Google Arts & Culture, 'Leonardo da Vinci's Inventions', U/A. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/leonardo-da-vinci-39-s-inventions/FwUhVre3jQevow?hl=en Accessed Jan 27, 2024.