T.j.K=Haxanthrobo

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Hello and welcome! First I shall explain that I am a professional artist and I am here to meet creative people or people that appreciate creative endeavors.I don't gauge success by how much a person makes..or which gallery shows them. I'm most impressed and drawn toward ABILITY and PERSONAL VISION. I love eccentricity , I mean TRUE eccentricity not the store bought kind.To Me (and it is after all the "about me" section!) eccentricity is about much more than outward appearance. I welcome diversity, ALL cultures all Open minds... I'm fascinated by ethnic traditions and customs from all over the world. I salute Creators and free -thinking individuals who can see things for what they are...see through the B.S. I exist mainly in three modes:A: FINE ARTB:commercial/collaborate artC: Experimental Designer aka ARTOMIC maker of objects of art,classic film figures,fashion accessories,jewelery, and bizarre items you'll NEVER see at the mall.thankyou for taking the time to look!! -T.J.K.----------------------------------------------------- ---------WWW.ARTOMIC.COMa brief history of an idea.Artomic began as a one man D.I.Y."anti"-brand in 1986 by founder Thomas Kuntz making art in many mediums and formats against existing norms and expectations. At the same time commissions came in from outside parties from nearly all imaginable industries requiring 3-d sculpture.After 20 years living as a professional fine artist and freelance artist using many mediums and tools a decision, change of direction was in order to maintain momentum. 1996 brought about the opening of the Artomic design studio equipped for the express purpose of taking on as many mediums as possible and to create an unusual kind of fine art .Technically re-awakening some old methods that would otherwise be lost.Part of this transition includes the creation of automata and androids or to be more specific "Haxanthrobotics" .These automaton theatrical performers may best be described as the artificial love children of Dada-Surrealism and Disney imagineering.These apocalyptic automated sculptures stand at the threshold of the valley of the uncanny.They are hand- sculpted performance automatons made using century old clockmaking techniques sometimes mated with modern technology. They begin life as clay with their organs being scratch built mechanisms gears,levers cams,pneumatics,hydraulics etc. Inspired by the great works of classic Artists such as DaVinci,Durer,Bosch But also the German Expressionists,Dadaists the mechanical masters of the 17th - 19th centuries such as Vaucanson,Von Kemplen ,Jaquet Droz and Leschot,Merlin and Cox.Disney's earliest imagineers provided inspiration and have left a mark on pop culture with The simple but direct gags of Marc Davis, the weird inventive style of Rolly Crump the magical illusion Of Yale Gracey the engineering of Wathel Rogers etc....... But the happiest place on earth has become anachronistsic to the realities outside it's borders... while being highly entertaining, The potential of animated sculpture as an art-form has never been fully realized in a theme park or a major film because both are artistically compromised for mass marketing purposes.What if such technologies served a different master? The idea of the "uncanny" automaton began after a long study involving the philosophical relationship between art, magic, religion and artificial life in ancient and modern cultures.These automatons or Haxanthrobotic performers sidestep the folly involved in the "pursuit of natural realism"...operating as theater players assigned to perform folk tales or passion plays. The miniature invokes the child within...the Microcosm .the Macrocosm can become know through the microcosm (as above so below)with the magic of illumination...little objects cast large shadows.In ancient temples priests secretly used automata and technology to inspire awe in their followers.Despite our modern self-deceit little has changed. With silicon chip- based life forms close at the heels of our own increasingly intellectually apathetic carbon based life forms...Humanity as a whole is facing the difficult task of being smarter than the machines it creates and uses...If there is any truth ,however, to the idea of the survival of the fittest then the future is a forgone conclusion.Humans have become more like machines, easily controlled by data input (media,education,systematic industrialization,etc.) and machines have become more human through the development of interactive robotic "feedback" capabilities and cellular automata that allow machines to "learn". In a world that seems doomed to become one giant consumer brand stripmall, such unfashionable works as these are indeed an act of magickal invocation, an assault on all things banal and techno-arrogant but who can really be angry at a puppet or piece of artificial simulacra?.At the end of the day ,life is a chore without a smile even if its a bittersweet one...or without wonder, creation and expression.Art, a worthless illusion teaches nothing really... yet it can INSPIRE WONDER beyond the value of any currency on earth.........---------------------------------------------- ----------------- For the last few years nearly all energies have been exploring these concepts focusing almost exclusively on highly unusual fine art pieces which can be found in the collections of some very eccentric well known collectors all across the country and around the world.Future works will involve further experimentation using video,sound and staging . all images and works copyrighted by Thomas Kuntz unless otherwise noted.please do not use without permission. Professional collaborations are open to discussion.To see the stop-motion designs for Ohgr's Majik start the vid below but first pause the song on the left. OHGR Majik
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