Absurdity and wonder: Heath Robinson at home
The artist’s outlandish domestic contraptions inspired the makers of “Wallace and Gromit” and will resonate with anyone who is pushed for space
By David Bennun
It’s one thing for an artist to establish a reputation, another for them to enter the dictionary. When the British want to describe a whimsical, improvised or over-elaborate mechanism, they call it a “Heath Robinson” machine, after the drawings of William Heath Robinson. (Americans have a direct equivalent in Rube Goldberg, whose creations, inspired by similar rapid changes in society and technology, are remarkably similar to those of his British counterpart.) A new exhibition of Heath Robinson’s work shows how he became a household name, in more ways than one.
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