Hard Time Mini Mall: Tom Haney
We’re excited to include the talented artist Tom Haney in our upcoming group show Hard Time Mini Mall (rsvp), curated by New Orleans’ Red Truck Gallery. Haney produces animatronic figurines that gesticulate on their own; the creation, of which, requires an unique assortment of skills like sculpting, carpentry, and mechanical prowess. The inner-workings of these devices are obscured from view to visually isolate the animated figure for effect. Haney has been written up in the Huffington Post, as well as featured in the Spruill Gallery and Detour Art.
Tom Haney is an important footnote in the long lineage of automata creation that mostly spanned from the 13th – 19th century in Europe. While there is a rich tradition of these mechanisms, it is soon becoming a lost art in the wake of the digital age. Haney explains how his work still holds a strong place in today’s culture, “Although some see my work as a reaction to today’s throwaway society, I approach it as a way to reconnect with the past. I cherish traditions, not trends. 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.”
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