Source: Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers
This past May 18th to 20th, AutomataCon returned to the Morris Museum in Morristown New Jersey, drawing automata artists, historians and enthusiasts from around the globe, from Kalamazoo to South Korea.
If you are not familiar with the term, an automaton (the singular of automata) is a mechanical device, often imitating the movement of living people or animals. The history of automata goes back to ancient times, and stretches through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and into modern times. Famous historic examples of automata include a mechanical duck created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1737, and Henri Maillardet’s human automata, which could draw four different pictures and write poems in French and English. Maillardet’s automaton has been restored to working condition, and can be seen at the Franklin Institute.
AutomataCon may be the largest gathering of its kind. This is the second iteration of the event, which the organizer, Brett King, plans to run every 2 years. I had a chance to speak with Mr. King, and he shared some of his thoughts on the event.
AutomataCon 2018 was a great success. When we held the first convention in 2016, we were hoping to build a community of automata enthusiasts, which had only existed online to that point. For our second event in 2018, we saw many of the same people returning, from all over the world, so I’m really pleased in that regard. This event is the only place some of our attendees meet in-person, even though they may have worked together or known each other for many years.
The other great thing about the event is it brings together people with different perspectives on automata. We had historians and curators from a number of museums in Europe sharing their expertise with modern automata artists and collectors. Along with panels by restorers and horologists, I think the programming helped bridge the gap from 18th and 19th century historical automata to the modern maker. It encouraged modern makers to think about things like the…
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