Doctor and Patient

                    2012

             repurposed media

Doctor                              Patient

]H=32 inches                  H=32 Inches
W=19 inches                  W=21 inches
L=19 inches                    L=19 inches

  Firstly, this is an entrant into a Juried show….no….I take that back. This is an unfulfilled work from 2011`s Robotany Show. It just happens to work well with the theme for the juried show: `Art and the Garden` coming up next month. At this time, it has yet to be accepted or declined, so I get to enjoy a pensive state while typing this entry; I get to wistfully endure a weeks wait for the results….

    I can`t imagine that it will be declined, but then again, it is a juried show. One way or another it`s already a success as far as I am concerned.  As well, its creation took on some new twists interesting detours. Typically, when I begin a sculpture or 2D work, I have an pretty good idea of what I`d like the outcome to be; though I still leave room for experimentation and happy accidents.  Those are more often than not where the `art` comes into play…otherwise, it`s more about the performance of an artisan, the skill and craftsmanship which contribute to art, but are not the art itself,  The art itself is to be found somewhere in the journey of all of these elements….but I digress….

     Again, typically, there is a destination in mind when I work, There is also an allowance for experimentation, trial and error, and for the work to inform me about where it needs to go. Sometimes this changes the route; other times it changes the destination. This time it changed both.

   Possibly the biggest contributing factor to this was only being able to spend a limited amount of time on the piece per day/night. Often this lay in time stolen before and after my non speculative money earning, which involved 9-12 hour days 6 to 7 days a week. So really, I was only able to spend generally a maximum of 2 hours at a time on this work. This induced a lot more reflection and plotting time, and far less trial and error. Magically, things went right on the first attempt a lot of the time.  Parts almost literally fell into place. I recall one instance of breaking one part of a material off from its whole only to find that by doing so, the scrap portion turned out to be usable for yet another portion of the sculpture. Talk about a lucky break!

   Additionally, there was a synergy between the job I was working (which involved `junk` removal) and this artwork. I was able to find parts and material in the dumpster which I would never be able to find in the building supply and hardware stores which I was frequent for the `job` I was working. However, while picking up parts for said job, I began looking at certain materials in stores in a different way; noticing, for instance, that a multi-directional  faucet aerator nozzle made for a perfectly prefabricated ball joint. This meant that I didn`t have to spend precious time making one from scrap materials.

   Weirdly enough,  materials and their values started trading places. The parts that I found in the dumpster were one of a kind, and though free of charge, could not be replaced; therefore they became priceless. On the other side, though I had to spend money on the parts from the hardware,  I knew  that if I screwed them up, I could just go and get more anytime, so their pricey-ness seemed to lessen. Weird. Trash became of great value, and priced items became trashable.

   The net result is possibly one of my strongest works to date. The intermingling of recycled and store bought components is fused seemlessly within the realm of repurposing. Oh, and though physically exhausted 90% of the time I worked on this,  it was a lot of fun to create. I only hope that it finds an audience that shares the laughter and contemplative joy that was mine during its creation.  Enjoy!

Here’s an album of pictures from the show! http://gallery.me.com/cyclinglinda#100034

It doesn’t have any touch ups in it. To view a Show highlights album  visit:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.2002707993023.2124761.1403303871

…and a close up.  The kite string is actually real thread wrapped around a splinter of wood.

What is Robotany ?


     

     Robotany, simply put, is a field study of Robots caught in the act of enjoying natural flora, and nature in general.  Assembled from over 2 years of observation and collection, it is perhaps my most cohesive body of work to date.  Truly, truly, I say to you: Every One of them is its own concentrated expression of natural enjoyment and appreciation.  If it is not clear from the images and objects themselves, let me use this space to relay to you what a a great time these characters had outside of their factories and spaceships.  This showing represents their vacation time and their play.  Clearly they chose to spend it playing in an environment far removed from the congested sterility and taxing routine of their work.  Who wouldn’t?
     Yet, they have, and (to the best of my knowledge) continue to do so in  an environmentally aware and perhaps overtly conscientious manner.  Just as humans replace their own worn tissues by consuming the tissues of plants and or animals; so to do these robots consume of discarded non-organic materials to replenish themselves likewise.  Their foraging of natural spaces helps to rid these areas of such things as tin cans, tires, and Styrofoam.  (Styrofoam, in this case, being a particular delicacy akin to fudge.) 
     Certain humans must be onto this activity as well, seeing as how they collect these materials into buffets for the robots.  Buffets which are generally located on the outskirts of towns and villages. Commonly known as ‘Recycling centers’ and ’ Landfills’ these robot  buffets serve to appease the lazier and less eco-friendly bots which may be otherwise tempted to forage on people’s automobiles, bikes, and scooters parked at nature trails, scenic overlooks, and other remote locations.  As they say:”There’s a rotten axle in every bunch.”…or something like that.  Regardless, the vacationing robots seem to generally stay clear of urban districts as it tends to freak humans out to see a robot acting autonomously- free from a programmed work routine.
     Besides the vacation urban version, another school of bot exists as well.  These would be the Grobots (pronounced Grow-Botz).  As an agriculturally assisting variety; these units have formed an alliance with farmers and their land.  In exchange for regular maintenance and repair, these robots assists not only in crop production and harvesting, but in pest maintenance and quality control as well.  Not only are they generally well kept, but they are allowed to exist in nature the year round- not solely during vacation! As a result, they tend to be kept in existence long after their urban counterparts are considered under-programmable and or obsolete.
     Encounters between the two bots often result in great reverence on behalf of the urban bots for the simple yet elegant programming of the rural ones.  As well, there is a great deal of respect for their extended ‘life’ span and functionality.  In turn, the Growbots are frequently inspired by their counterparts’ technological innovations and their sleek, fashionable  construction and new materials. However, either type of robot has confessed to me in private, that they would most certainly never desire to trade places with their counter part (and in even further privacy that their own function and design was perhaps superior to that of their counterpart.)  That being stated, there is almost complete consensus that there is indeed a necessity for both types on the planet; and that the world is a better place as a result of robots’ positive interaction with nature.
     At the time of writing this, it would appear that a new variety of robots has evolved- bearing elements of both previous classes.  Self referenced as ‘Envirobots’, this variety has developed its own unique niche in the scheme of things.  Though little is known about their origins, they seem to be a hybrid of Grobots, the Urban Robotanists, and yet a third influence: Nature itself.  Evidently they are possessed with a slightly more radical view of the natural world.  Somehow it appears that through repeated contact wit nature it eventually began to infiltrate and integrate into their systems and programming.  Their allegiance no longer belongs to mankind, bu to nature itself!  They bear the seeds of plants and trees’ propagation in their very being with the knowledge that when their time is done, nature must continue forth. Their lifetime itself is spent in the service of nature: composting, trash collection and disposal, as well as deterring animals from consuming edible species.  They are fervently dedicated to the promotion of all naturally growing species.  It is even rumored that their inner workings are dependent upon a balanced carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange.  Now wonder they want plants of ANY kind to abound!
     So, I hope this helps clarify matters.  If not, perhaps the answers can be provided by the collection of the specimens represented here.  I sincerely hope you enjoy this as much as I have, and are as inspired towards change as I myself have been.

Thank you.


—
Nickeless Fisher
(NF)
nickfisher11@gmail.com