Well All White

Thinking about the genius of Bruce Lacey over a cup of tea the other day, I recalled the strange automata featured in the Godley and Cream directed video for Herbie Hancock's Rockit. (No, that wasn't intended as a subtle dig at Herbie's wooden performance style, though I did see him play once and it was a decidedly underwhelming experience). The spastic humanoid figures are reminiscent of Lacey but their designer was British artist/inventor Jim Whiting, who appears to have had a brief period of popularity in the mid-80s in the UK before finding greater success abroad, not the first time the British have failed to appreciate their creative talent.

Here posh nob Hugh Laurie interviews Whiting for ITV's South of Watford arts programme in 1986 (replacing common man Ben Elton in the second series of SoW). Neither Elton nor Laurie are natural interviewers; their 'talents', such as they are, lay elsewhere. 

Watch out for the pervy men and a brief sticky pubic hair situation, enough to make you wince.

Whiting is clearly somewhat deranged but rather likeable, and has apparently become a big name in 'Extreme Arts', which is apparently something to do with scaring drugged people festivals. Perhaps working in the margins is the safest place for artists.

Gluttons can see a live version of Rockit with some of Whiting's kinetic characters on Channel 4's The Tube here.

Ben and Bruce

It's time for a few more little gems from the British Pathé Film Archive, featuring artists BenVautier and Bruce Lacey. Ben has the nicest handwriting, which impressed me very much as a teenager seeing his work in Paris and Amsterdam. There's a shared junk shop aesthetic and a sort of transition from Beat to Pop. Ed Kienholz would make a good threesome.

Lacey is mocked a "professor" in inverted commas and "tragical comedian". He was in fact a real professor who taught at a number of art schools, a genuine tragical comedian reflecting the malaise in our society, and a bona fide artist who has followed his own path and refused to kowtow to convention. The world needs more like him.

Cybernetic Radiophonics

Father of cybernetic art Nicolas Schöffer (1912-1992) is seen here installing his work at the ICA London for exhibit in 1960. This was presumably the first UK showing of Cysp I (1956), usually considered the original cybernetic sculpture in that it made use of a primitive electronic computer control system.

The British Pathé newsreel commentator gives us their usual 'artist-as-nutty-professor' shtick, but once he shuts up there is some great radiophonics to accompany the visuals of the Lux 3 sculpture. Schöffer collaborated with electronic / musique concrète composer Pierre Henry, which is an interesting connection.

Here is a French newsreel version, featuring prettier girls and lousier music (quelle surprise!)

There is also a nice discussion of an exhibition (perhaps 'open studio' is more precise) that took place some years ago in his old studio (which I hope is still intact in Montmartre) plus some cool images here and here.

Rowland Emett

Rowland Emett will be familiar to many as the designer of Caractacus Potts' inventions in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He was the creator of automata and an accomplished cartoonist, a cross between Ronald Searle and William Heath Robinson, perhaps with Wilf Lunn as his idiot bastard son.

Emett designed the trains on the miniature railway that operated at the Festival of Britain in 1951.

His work is primarily concerned with a jokey visual entertainment rather than serious artistic endeavor, but there is always room for humour in art. He produced a number of public artworks and this collaboration with Honeywell computers that appeared at the Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition:

 

Emett is currently the subject of a nice looking exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which can be seen during installation here:

The Rowland Emett Society have very kindly provided the delightful soundtrack to the exhibition on Soundcloud.