Dug North

Dug North (born August 2, 1970) is an American artist who creates hand-cranked animated sculpture known as 'contemporary automata'. Though his work is much less complex mechanically, North draws inspiration from the masterworks of automatists such as Pierre Jaquet-Droz, Henri Maillardet, and the magic-themed automata of Robert-Houdin.
North as an artist is less concerned with imitating living organisms, than with creating scenes and characters that make subtle comments on society. Other contemporary automata artists include those associated with Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, once located in Covent Garden, London.
In addition to writing magazine articles on the subject of automata, he publishes a blog for collectors and makers of automata and mechanical toys entitled The Automata / Automaton Blog. He maintains the automata blog actively using his own resources, covering information on the craft, tools and products as well as artists in the field. His blog is considered by many beginner automata-makers, automata artists and collectors as the source for the most up-to-date information on automata and its development. He provided vital guidance in the publication of "Two Odd Volumes on Magic & Automata."
He or his website has been referenced in at least two published automata articles: [http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/3/1/article2.htm Lee Valley Tools Woodworking Newsletter (Vol. 3, Issue 1 September 2008)], and [http://www.woodworksandcrafts.com/ Creative Woodworks and Crafts (coming issue - June 2012)]. His techniques for using rotary tools were featured on February, 2012.
Dug North served as the Kircher Society Resident Automatist for The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society and was in a documentary on the history of automata titled 'The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo' that accompanied the DVD release of the film Hugo.
North makes his home in Lowell, Massachusetts in the United States and continues to create automata.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu