(1948– )

Paul Spooner

Paul Spooner was born in Lancashire, England, in 1948. He exhibited mechanical aptitude early on and by the age of 16 had constructed a clock and a steam engine from wood. He studied mechanical sculpture from 1966 to 1969 and in 1974 moved to Cornwall, where he made weaving looms for his wife and worked as a van driver. He made his first automaton—a whimsical wooden sculpture with moving parts—in 1981, a piece featuring the Egyptian jackal-headed god Anubis. He made small machines at first, which became increasingly larger during his years with Cabaret Mechanical Theater. In 1989, he was one of the main artists on "The Ride of Life," a million-pound automaton designed for a shopping center but never installed. His television program, Mechanisms, was broadcast by the BBC's Channel 4 in 1995. Paul has also produced two card cutout books, Spooner's Moving Animals and The Museum of the Mind, as well as the children's book Red Roger.

"My work as an artist/mechanic amounts to a constant pursuit of elegance and simplicity. I haven't caught up with either yet because I don't know how to finish things. Except sometimes. And even then I'm not sure." –Paul Spooner

To learn more about Paul Spooner & London's Cabaret Mechanical Theater, visit: http://www.cabaret.co.uk/artists/paul-spooner/