Tom Haney

Relique, 2008
Mixed Media Automata
17" x 25” x 17"

Automata: a moving mechanical device made in imitation of a human being, an ancient pursuit more thoroughly developed in the 13th - 19th centuries mostly in Europe but also in Asia

Before becoming a full-time artist in 2000, Tom Haney (b. 1962) professional work consisted of making props, models and miniatures for television commercials, still photographers, and movies. I created things that couldn't be found anywhere else. These included a 5-foot ping pong paddle for a Japanese television show, miniature laser printers for a magazine ad and marionettes for TNT's "Rudy and Go-Go's World Famous Cartoon Show." I attribute my skill at aging partially to the experience I gained working on the John Sayles' movies, Eight Men Out and City of Hope.

I love the old ways of doing things, old tools and traditional techniques. Working with one’s hands still has value. I believe there is a magical transformation that happens when mechanical movement is added to a static figure. This movement captures a viewer’s attention and holds it to the point where they are drawn into interpreting the stories the piece conveys. They are not merely observers but collaborators.

Any kind of mechanical movement has always been a fascination of mine and to combine this with figurative carvings became irresistibly compelling. After some time I learned about automata, “a moving mechanical device made in imitation of a human being”, an ancient pursuit more thoroughly developed in the 13th – 19th centuries mostly in Europe but also in Asia. The work I create today is a modern offshoot of the time-honored European tradition of automata.

With the addition of collected found objects another connection is made, albeit to a more recent past. I search out and collect, as an archivist or archeologist, discarded, obsolete artifacts and breathe new life into them as they are remodeled into devices that help tell my stories. Stories that often illustrate man’s perseverance to overcome life’s obstacles, often with open-ended narratives that are completed by the viewer.