Jim Whiting
Encyclopedia
Jim Whiting is a British
artist
and inventor. He was born in Paris
and spent his early childhood in Salisbury (now Harare
), Zimbabwe before returning to the UK with his family in 1959. He studied Electronic Engineering & Systems control at Queen Mary College and then sculpture at St Martins School of Art after a foundation at High Wycombe Art College.
Whiting's first major installation was in 1979 at The Hayward gallery in London, His Business Machine was chosen by artist
Helen Chadwick
as part of the summer show. Other shows of his animated figurative works followed, including Purgatory at British museums, galleries and festivals, and Heavenly Bodies on the roof of the Royal National Theatre
in 1981. He received International recognition in 1984 after his robot-like sculptures were featured dancing in the Herbie Hancock
's Rockit
music video
directed by duo Godley & Creme
, winning the first MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
.
Whiting's Mechanical Theatre was commissioned in 1987 by Andre Heller
for his Luna Luna art/amusement park in Hamburg. From 1988 to 1992 he took his Unnatural Bodies show on tour, exhibiting in Cologne, Zürich, Berlin, with Galerie Littmann , and later in Glasgow , Linz (Ars Electronica
) and also as the Tower in London's Broadgate and Aurillac Festival. In 1994 he created a waggon installation for Klaus Littmann’s KunstZug, which was exhibited at stations in Switzerland, France and Germany.
His work has now been incorporated into his variété venue Bimbotown based in the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei
a former factory in Leipzig that has become home to dozens of international artists' and Galleries. Originally launched in 1993 in Basel, Bimbotown moved to Leipzig in 1996 where Whiting continues to host parties, which The Guardian
newspaper recently described in a round up of the best of Germany as "a mix of music, theatre and lots of crazy stuff by artists from all over Europe".
In 2007 a new version of his Mechanical Theatre was commissioned for the Swarovski
Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) theme park in Austria
, which was conceived by André Heller
and features work by famous modern artists. He continues to exhibit his installations in Europe.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and inventor. He was born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and spent his early childhood in Salisbury (now Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
), Zimbabwe before returning to the UK with his family in 1959. He studied Electronic Engineering & Systems control at Queen Mary College and then sculpture at St Martins School of Art after a foundation at High Wycombe Art College.
Whiting's first major installation was in 1979 at The Hayward gallery in London, His Business Machine was chosen by artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick was a British conceptual artist.-Life and work:Chadwick studied at Croydon College of Art, The Faculty of Arts and Architecture Brighton Polytechnic and then at the Chelsea School of Art....
as part of the summer show. Other shows of his animated figurative works followed, including Purgatory at British museums, galleries and festivals, and Heavenly Bodies on the roof of the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 1981. He received International recognition in 1984 after his robot-like sculptures were featured dancing in the Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
's Rockit
Rockit
"Rockit" is a song recorded by Herbie Hancock. It was released as a single from his 1983 album Future Shock. The song was written by Hancock, bass guitarist Bill Laswell, and synthesizer/drum machine programmer Michael Beinhorn.-History:...
music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
directed by duo Godley & Creme
Godley & Creme
Godley & Creme were an English pop music duo composed of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing albums as a duo after splitting from the pop band 10cc. In 1979 they directed their first music video for their own single "An Englishman in New York"...
, winning the first MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Award winners for Best Art Direction in a Video. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the biggest winners in this category with three wins in 1992, 2000, and 2006....
.
Whiting's Mechanical Theatre was commissioned in 1987 by Andre Heller
André Heller
Franz André Heller is an Austrian artist, author, singer and actor.- Biography :Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufacturers . His almost daily visits to the Café Hawelka were in his opinion a key element in the development of his literary orientation...
for his Luna Luna art/amusement park in Hamburg. From 1988 to 1992 he took his Unnatural Bodies show on tour, exhibiting in Cologne, Zürich, Berlin, with Galerie Littmann , and later in Glasgow , Linz (Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
) and also as the Tower in London's Broadgate and Aurillac Festival. In 1994 he created a waggon installation for Klaus Littmann’s KunstZug, which was exhibited at stations in Switzerland, France and Germany.
His work has now been incorporated into his variété venue Bimbotown based in the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei
Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei
The Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei is an industrial site in Leipzig, Germany. Parts of this 10-hectare site in the district of Lindenau are used today by art galleries, studios and restaurants....
a former factory in Leipzig that has become home to dozens of international artists' and Galleries. Originally launched in 1993 in Basel, Bimbotown moved to Leipzig in 1996 where Whiting continues to host parties, which The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper recently described in a round up of the best of Germany as "a mix of music, theatre and lots of crazy stuff by artists from all over Europe".
In 2007 a new version of his Mechanical Theatre was commissioned for the Swarovski
Swarovski
Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...
Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) theme park in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, which was conceived by André Heller
André Heller
Franz André Heller is an Austrian artist, author, singer and actor.- Biography :Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufacturers . His almost daily visits to the Café Hawelka were in his opinion a key element in the development of his literary orientation...
and features work by famous modern artists. He continues to exhibit his installations in Europe.