John Robinson (sculptor)
Encyclopedia
John Robinson was a British sculptor and co-founder of the Bradshaw Foundation. Accounts of his work may be seen at the Robinson estate website, the website of the Centre for the Popularisation of Mathematics and the June and July 2007, issues of Hyperseeing. Among other distinctions, he was the Official Sculptor for the British Olympic Committee in 1988, and a University of Wales
Honorary Fellow, 1992.
Robinson first made a name for himself with representational pieces. His figurative bronzes ranged in scope and scale from life-size commissioned sculptures of children to athletic sculptures, and included a commissioned bust of Queen Elizabeth
and another of the Queen Mother
. His representational sports figure ‘Acrobats’ (1970, 5 metres) is mounted outside the Sports Academy in Canberra. There are 7 other world placements of the 'Acrobats'.
Another of his athletic sculptures, ‘Hammer Thrower,’ may be seen outside the Bowring Building in Tower Hill, London, at the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, Alabama, and in Melbourne, Australia. Robinson was Official Sculptor for the British Olympic Committee in 1988. His ‘Gymnast’ is at the new Olympic Museum in Lausanne, donated by the Australian Olympic Committee.
A number of Robinson's sculptures show scientific concepts, such as matter/antimatter in
`Janus', evolution in `Evolution', the explosions of stars in `StarBurst'. He produced sculptures related to bundles and to http://www.popmath.org.uk/sculpmath/pagesm/borings.htmlclass='greylink1' onMouseover='ShowPop("68571",this,"noimage.gif", event)' onMouseout='HidePop("68571")' href="/topics/Borromean_rings">Borromean rings
]. He has also made a set of tapestries, woven in Aubusson, France.
One of Robinson’s best-known symbolic sculptures is `Bonds of Friendship’ (1979), which he dedicated as symbolizing the notion that “trust is the basis of peace”. A 1.5m x 1m edition of ‘Bonds’, in polished bronze, was unveiled in 1979 in Sydney Cove by the Governor General of Australia, to commemorate the landing in 1774 of the First Fleet. An analogous sculpture, but patinated to represent the Old Country, was unveiled in Portsmouth by Queen Elizabeth
. Robinson said that ‘Bonds’ “symbolises the friendship that exists between the two countries, as well as between my patrons and myself, which has enriched my life beyond measure and made the Symbolic Sculptures possible.”
Selections of Robinson’s work have been exhibited at the universities of Leeds, Bangor, Swansea, Liverpool, Wadham College Oxford, Churchill College Cambridge, London, Barcelona, Zaragoza, and at several sites in the U.S. His symbolic sculptures have been donated to a number of Universities, including Bangor (4), Cambridge (5), Durham (3), Oxford (2), Macquarie (1). Many of his sculptures can be viewed on web sites, including the Robinson estate website. A discussion of Robinson’s work within the context of mathematical principles can be seen at the website of the Centre for the Popularisation of Mathematics hosted by the University of Wales, Bangor.
, where he received prizes for geometry and sculpture. He left school at the age of 16 and joined the Merchant Navy, but left the Navy upon arrival in Australia. There he engaged in a wide range of activities that enabled him to explore that continent. His adventures ranged from jackerooing and cattle droving to serving on a mounted patrol: he joined the last Mounted Police Patrol and trekked on horseback through 1100 kilometers of the King Leopold Ranges
of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In the 1950s, he married, bought a 1600 acres (6.5 km²) virgin scrub block in the Ninety Mile Desert of South Australia and for ten years, he and Margie developed a sheep farm. Their three sons were born on that farm.
In the late 1960s, he bought some modelling clay and started modelling friends and children, working in his shearing shed at weekends. His sculpting became so consuming that, in 1969 at the age of 35, having developed the farm totally and alone, he sold it for enough money to support himself and his family for two years to try his hand as a sculptor. Robinson returned to England with his wife and 3 sons to begin his sculpting career in earnest. Robinson first worked from a barn studio in Devon
in the early 1970s, and later moved his family and studio to Somerset
.
In 1983-1985 Robinson opened the Freeland Gallery in Albemarle St., London, showing both figurative and representative sculptures. This led to contact with several art collectors and with the topologist Ronnie Brown. He and John collaborated in designing an exhibition of 13 full size sculptures at the Pop Maths Roadshow at Leeds University in 1989. The Catalogue they prepared for this exhibition, `Symbolic Sculptures and Tapestries', was widely distributed and led to further exhibitions.
In 1992 John was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, in recognition of the value of his sculpture and his collaboration with the Department of Mathematics. In 1996 he worked with Ronnie Brown and Cara Quinton on a web account of his sculptures, and this convinced him of the value of the internet. In typical fashion, he developed his own ideas, skills and a team of experts. Later he worked with Nick Mee of Virtual Image to create animations of some of his sculptures, and these were used in a CDRom produced by John, another developed by Ronnie Brown in WMY2000 under an EC grant, and in the two web sites referred to earlier.
For an indication of John's style of symbolism and craftmanship, see Mortality `From nothing to nothing, cut from an egg, representing the cycle of life', and also `Immortality', `Passing on the torch of life'.
. Robinson’s travels to study rock art took him from the Sahara Desert to Easter Island. He was one of the few members of the Chauvet Cave
scientific exploration team, led by Jean Clottes. In 1998, Robinson visited the Chauvet cave with Dr. Clottes, Dr. David Lewis-Williams
, and several other team members, to visit the images estimated to be older than 35,000 years, the oldest art yet discovered. Robinson also travelled from Petra in Jordan to the Olgas in Central Australia, visited art academies throughout China, and explored the temples of Egypt, Mexico, Malta, Samarkand and Bokara in Uzbekistan.
The Bradshaw Foundation's first publication 'Bradshaws - Rock Paintings of North-Western Australia' was edited by Robinson in 1993. He foresaw the importance of the emerging World Wide Web, and in 1997 the Bradshaw Foundation website was established to highlight rock art research from around the world. In 2004 the website further expanded as Robinson introduced the genetic research of Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford University, in order to give rock art an anthropological context. This resulted in the 'Journey of Mankind - Genetic Map'. It was at this point the Bradshaw Foundation received a web award from Scientific American for work in the field of Anthropology & Paleontology.
In March 2007 Robinson was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. He died on 6 April his home in Somerset, England after a short illness, fully in control, and, as he said, with no regrets. Two of his sculptures illustrate his attitude: `Mortality’ (1982), `From nothing to nothing, cut from an egg’, where the egg is the symbol of the cycle of life; and `Immortality’ (1982), `Passing on the torch of life’.
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
Honorary Fellow, 1992.
Figurative sculptures
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and another of the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
. His representational sports figure ‘Acrobats’ (1970, 5 metres) is mounted outside the Sports Academy in Canberra. There are 7 other world placements of the 'Acrobats'.
Another of his athletic sculptures, ‘Hammer Thrower,’ may be seen outside the Bowring Building in Tower Hill, London, at the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, Alabama, and in Melbourne, Australia. Robinson was Official Sculptor for the British Olympic Committee in 1988. His ‘Gymnast’ is at the new Olympic Museum in Lausanne, donated by the Australian Olympic Committee.
Abstract symbolic sculptures and tapestries
In 1975, after listening to a Mozart violin concerto, an abstract form came into his mind, which he then translated into a sculpture. This `Adagio’ was the first of his non-figurative sculptures. Robinson then embarked on a series of abstract sculptures with the aim of symbolizing human values and our concepts of the dynamic processes which shape our lives. In this ‘Universe Series’ of symbolic sculptures and tapestries, which comprises over 100 works, he combined scientific and mathematical principles with artistic aesthetic. One example is `Joy of Living’ (1993), a curving band of stainless steel. The symbolic `Elation’ (1983) conveys the punching of the fist in triumph.A number of Robinson's sculptures show scientific concepts, such as matter/antimatter in
`Janus', evolution in `Evolution', the explosions of stars in `StarBurst'. He produced sculptures related to bundles and to http://www.popmath.org.uk/sculpmath/pagesm/borings.html
Borromean rings
In mathematics, the Borromean rings consist of three topological circles which are linked and form a Brunnian link, i.e., removing any ring results in two unlinked rings.- Mathematical properties :...
]. He has also made a set of tapestries, woven in Aubusson, France.
One of Robinson’s best-known symbolic sculptures is `Bonds of Friendship’ (1979), which he dedicated as symbolizing the notion that “trust is the basis of peace”. A 1.5m x 1m edition of ‘Bonds’, in polished bronze, was unveiled in 1979 in Sydney Cove by the Governor General of Australia, to commemorate the landing in 1774 of the First Fleet. An analogous sculpture, but patinated to represent the Old Country, was unveiled in Portsmouth by Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. Robinson said that ‘Bonds’ “symbolises the friendship that exists between the two countries, as well as between my patrons and myself, which has enriched my life beyond measure and made the Symbolic Sculptures possible.”
Selections of Robinson’s work have been exhibited at the universities of Leeds, Bangor, Swansea, Liverpool, Wadham College Oxford, Churchill College Cambridge, London, Barcelona, Zaragoza, and at several sites in the U.S. His symbolic sculptures have been donated to a number of Universities, including Bangor (4), Cambridge (5), Durham (3), Oxford (2), Macquarie (1). Many of his sculptures can be viewed on web sites, including the Robinson estate website. A discussion of Robinson’s work within the context of mathematical principles can be seen at the website of the Centre for the Popularisation of Mathematics hosted by the University of Wales, Bangor.
Biography
Robinson was born in London on 4 May 1935. His father was Australian and mother English. He was evacuated to Australia from 1940 to 1943, where attended Melbourne Grammar School. On returning to England, he attended Rugby SchoolRugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, where he received prizes for geometry and sculpture. He left school at the age of 16 and joined the Merchant Navy, but left the Navy upon arrival in Australia. There he engaged in a wide range of activities that enabled him to explore that continent. His adventures ranged from jackerooing and cattle droving to serving on a mounted patrol: he joined the last Mounted Police Patrol and trekked on horseback through 1100 kilometers of the King Leopold Ranges
King Leopold Ranges
The King Leopold Ranges are a range of hills in the western Kimberley region of Western Australia. Crossed by the Gibb River Road about east of Derby, part of the ranges are covered by the King Leopold Ranges Conservation National Park, managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation...
of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In the 1950s, he married, bought a 1600 acres (6.5 km²) virgin scrub block in the Ninety Mile Desert of South Australia and for ten years, he and Margie developed a sheep farm. Their three sons were born on that farm.
In the late 1960s, he bought some modelling clay and started modelling friends and children, working in his shearing shed at weekends. His sculpting became so consuming that, in 1969 at the age of 35, having developed the farm totally and alone, he sold it for enough money to support himself and his family for two years to try his hand as a sculptor. Robinson returned to England with his wife and 3 sons to begin his sculpting career in earnest. Robinson first worked from a barn studio in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in the early 1970s, and later moved his family and studio to Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
In 1983-1985 Robinson opened the Freeland Gallery in Albemarle St., London, showing both figurative and representative sculptures. This led to contact with several art collectors and with the topologist Ronnie Brown. He and John collaborated in designing an exhibition of 13 full size sculptures at the Pop Maths Roadshow at Leeds University in 1989. The Catalogue they prepared for this exhibition, `Symbolic Sculptures and Tapestries', was widely distributed and led to further exhibitions.
In 1992 John was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, in recognition of the value of his sculpture and his collaboration with the Department of Mathematics. In 1996 he worked with Ronnie Brown and Cara Quinton on a web account of his sculptures, and this convinced him of the value of the internet. In typical fashion, he developed his own ideas, skills and a team of experts. Later he worked with Nick Mee of Virtual Image to create animations of some of his sculptures, and these were used in a CDRom produced by John, another developed by Ronnie Brown in WMY2000 under an EC grant, and in the two web sites referred to earlier.
For an indication of John's style of symbolism and craftmanship, see Mortality `From nothing to nothing, cut from an egg, representing the cycle of life', and also `Immortality', `Passing on the torch of life'.
Rock Art Research and the Bradshaw Foundation
After a lifetime of interest in art, archaeology and anthropology, Robinson co-founded the Bradshaw Foundation. This foundation was formed in 1992 following an expedition to the Kimberley region of north-western Australia to examine a distributed set of rock art called the BradshawsBradshaws
Bradshaw rock paintings, or the Bradshaws are a distinctive style of rock art found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. They are named after the pastoralist Joseph Bradshaw who was the first European to discover them in 1891, whilst searching for grazing land for his cattle...
. Robinson’s travels to study rock art took him from the Sahara Desert to Easter Island. He was one of the few members of the Chauvet Cave
Chauvet Cave
The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave is a cave in the Ardèche department of southern France that contains the earliest known cave paintings, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life. It is located near the commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc on a limestone cliff above the former bed of the Ardèche River...
scientific exploration team, led by Jean Clottes. In 1998, Robinson visited the Chauvet cave with Dr. Clottes, Dr. David Lewis-Williams
David Lewis-Williams
James David Lewis-Williams is a South African scholar. He is professor emeritus of cognitive archaeology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg....
, and several other team members, to visit the images estimated to be older than 35,000 years, the oldest art yet discovered. Robinson also travelled from Petra in Jordan to the Olgas in Central Australia, visited art academies throughout China, and explored the temples of Egypt, Mexico, Malta, Samarkand and Bokara in Uzbekistan.
The Bradshaw Foundation's first publication 'Bradshaws - Rock Paintings of North-Western Australia' was edited by Robinson in 1993. He foresaw the importance of the emerging World Wide Web, and in 1997 the Bradshaw Foundation website was established to highlight rock art research from around the world. In 2004 the website further expanded as Robinson introduced the genetic research of Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford University, in order to give rock art an anthropological context. This resulted in the 'Journey of Mankind - Genetic Map'. It was at this point the Bradshaw Foundation received a web award from Scientific American for work in the field of Anthropology & Paleontology.
In March 2007 Robinson was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. He died on 6 April his home in Somerset, England after a short illness, fully in control, and, as he said, with no regrets. Two of his sculptures illustrate his attitude: `Mortality’ (1982), `From nothing to nothing, cut from an egg’, where the egg is the symbol of the cycle of life; and `Immortality’ (1982), `Passing on the torch of life’.