Simon Tait’s Mews No.7

Yule mewscasting

HQ CMT is a secret central London location known only to a few thousand cognoscenti, and they all seemed to be there for the Christmas spell casting. This is where making magic is serious fun, and the CMT Christmas gathering is the summit meeting for devoted funsters. I’m not talking about magic tricks, sleight of hand and now-you-see-now-you-don’t; this is about pure ingenuity, Magic Circle rules do not apply.

First to command our attention was the Circus Maximus, the kind of circus maximus that fits snugly in the corner of a small room rather than the sort where Christians provide the entertainment in their selfless way. This is Michael and Maria Start’s flea circus, with strong-fleas, trapeze-fleas, tug-o-war-fleas and even Ignatius D, the fire-eating flea who, sadly, had the consuming fire process reversed on him and had to be the subject of a flea-funeral; while we sang Candle in the Wind, though, a miracle happened and the valiant, if singed, Ignatius was restored to the company. You don’t have to suspend belief beyond knowing that Michael and Mama Mia, to give her her stage name, also run AutomatomaniA, the country’s only automaton restoration company. He’s a horologist by training, she’s a sculptor, no animal training in either of their CVs.

The greats are all here in the throng, Tim Hunkin, Paul Spooner, Keith Newstead, Carlos Zapata, and new talent in the CMT fold – like Pascale Michalski who brought the most extraordinary gothick house for us to see, a pile as mysterious and fascinating as any Gormenghast – complete with music played in the machine from the kind of paper disc they used for pianolas which Pascale had also made. And Fi Henshall, Rob’s next door neighbour in Penryn in Cornwall, or rather next boat neighbour because they both live afloat. She is a puppetmaker but the arrival of Ella two or three years ago confined her to quayside, where she produces beautifully carved and painted machines in which, for instance, the tables are turned on the magician who saws a lady in half…

And then there was Richard Garriott, computer games millionaire, astronaut, son of an astronaut and collector of automata. Still in his forties, this man – born on the fourth of July - grew up in the Houston household of a Skylab astronaut, Owen Garriott since you ask, and with astronaut families living either side, an ethos where imagination and reality collide. So Richard did the obvious thing: he travelled to the new world of fantasy computer games, made his fortune there, and a couple of years ago took himself home by buying a £30m ride in the International Space Station, where you get four sunrises and four sunsets in a day. What must that do to our personal mechanics? Anyway, before he was allowed to go aloft by Space Adventures (of which he is now a board member, naturally) this Astronaut Garriott was found to have a minor abnormality in his liver and was obliged to undergo major surgery before they would let him go. He showed us the L-shaped scar to prove it. But with him into the cosmos he took the tiniest automaton he could lay his hands, barely an inch high, which is a bush that blossoms and flowers and then releases a pair of butterflies, a little bit of man-made earthliness. For this is also Automotonaut Garriott, who has acquired so many machines, he reckons about 500 or so but can’t be sure, of all sizes (and many made by tonight’s party-goers) that he had to build an extra wing on his mansion in Austin, Texas. Keith presented him with an addition to the collection, a tiny astronaut floating in space around the globe, and waving to us poor earthlings below. It took Keith about an hour to make, a fraction of the time it must have taken to create Richard’s other new acquisition which he brought for us to see, a tiny gold and silver watch in which there are no hands or faces, except those on the lady musician and the young conductor who as they make the music the piece plays. It was made in Paris more than two centuries ago, and Richard bought it at Christie’s the other day.

Blimey, there was enough inspiration buzzing around HQ CMT’s seasonal summit to keep my unandroidal brain spinning in orbit for ever, so a Mechanical Christmas to you all and a Happy Mews Year.

The Magic of Cabaret Day 40

As we come to the last evening of the Magic of Cabaret, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope you have enjoyed the evenings and we look forward to catching up with you in 2010. We have new exhibitions opening in Woodstock - Oxfordshire, Miami - Florida, and Tel Aviv.

Click here to look back over the last 39 days.

Day 39 - Deck the halls with Automata!

As you make the final touches to your decorations, why not think about creating some that move.

Dr. Stephen Guy has been busy this year with several collaborative automata projects, which may inspire you to get creative with your friends.

Last month Stephen inspired prospective theatre design students with this wonderful idea for a workshop. Students all made their own pieces, and then by clever mechanical connections, all the automata were joined together and one turn of the handle set them all in motion.

Stephen’s mechanical theatre performance of The London Jungle Book, featuring Indian Gond Art by Bhaju Shyam, was so popular at our exhibition in Granada that they have been invited back to do a closing performance in January.

Following on from this work, Stephen also inspired another Gond artist to make his first piece of automata.

Day 38 - Circus Maximus - The Flea Circus

This Saturday we have some more entertainment from Michael and Maria Start.
A completely traditional flea circus called “Circus Maximus” featuring acts of skill and daring performed by trained Fleas. Beginning with Hestor Walenda in a nerve racking high wire and trapeze act and featuring Ignatius P. the Fire eating flea. Dr. Flea and his glamorous assistant MammaMia encourage and introduce the highly trained troupe through 10 classic circus acts, the Grand Finale being when Taki Fontana is shot from a Cannon.

Rest assured, no fleas are harmed during the performance, they actually enjoy the discipline of performing.

To end this evening we have The Magic Book Part 2 from Michael and Maria.

Day 37 - The Corkscrew by Rob Higgs

Now is the time to start thinking about how you are going to open your wine and nuts over the festive season. Look no further! We have two ingenious devices to show you from artist and automata maker Rob Higgs.

We know that these two are a bit on the large size but enjoy watching them anyway!