Christopher " Kit " Williams (born April 28, 1946) is an English artist, illustrator and writer famous for his 1979 book Masquerade , a picture story book containing instructions for the location of a rabbit (18 karat) made by Williams and then buried "somewhere in England".
Williams published three other books and was commissioned to make three public hours with complicated mechanisms and moving parts, such as animals, for visual purposes.
Born in Kent, England, Williams continues to paint figurative art in his studio at Gloucestershire.
Video Kit Williams
Work
Kit Williams now primarily works as a figurative painter in which he uses traditional oil painting techniques, forming the first wood panel lined with linen and gesso oil. He then used many layers of Dutch transparent and opaque oil paint to create luminous images.
Williams likes to maintain full control of every aspect of his art including making clothes worn by the model, making sets and props, and often creating mechanisms within the frame or painting that reveal the moving elements of the artwork and encourage interaction by the viewer.
Using marquetry, he always creates his own frame allowing him to create images of various shapes and allows the image elements to proceed into the frame in often intricate details.
Maps Kit Williams
Previous work
As well as his most famous book, Masquerade , Williams wrote The Bee on the Comb , a puzzle book with the theme of bees. The book was originally published with no visible title, and the reader was challenged to find the title of the instructions in the book and to submit the answer without using the written word. The competition only lasts one year and one day, and the winner is revealed on live BBC TV broadcast Wogan .
In 1985 Kit Williams designed the Hope Fishing Hour, the center of the Regent Arcade shopping center in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. At a height of over 45 feet, the clock featured a duck that drained a never-ending golden egg and included a family of mice that kept trying to avoid snakes sitting on top of the clock. Depending on the base of the clock is a large wooden fish that blows bubbles every half hour. Capturing one of these bubbles gives you the right to make a request, hence the name of the clock. The clock has undergone important restoration work and returns to full work since May 12, 2017.
Other clocks designed by Williams can be found at the Telford Shopping Center and in the Midsummer Place section of Central Milton Keynes Shopping Center.
Williams is also involved in the Dragonfly Maze design at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England, consisting of a yew labyrinth with a pavilion at its center. The goal is not just to reach the pavilion, but to gather clues while navigating the maze. Correctly interpreting these clues when one reaches the pavilion allows access to the last secret of the maze.
Masquerade and Golden Hare
In August 2009 Kit Williams reunited with the golden rabbit of Masquerade , which he had not seen for more than 30 years. He was quoted as saying:
- "I do not remember that kind of thing... Then when I took it, the little bell jingled, and it glistened in a way I've forgotten too."
The reunion was revealed in a 60 minute documentary about Williams, The Man Behind The Masquerade , featured on BBC Four on December 2nd, 2009. The show begins with Masquerade and ends. with exhibits from 18 of his finest works of art from 30 years earlier at Gallery Portal, which first showed off his work in the 1970s. The program shows Williams reuniting with a gold rabbit for the first time when it was loaned by its unnamed owner, who lives in East Asia.
The rabbit is on display at V & amp; A Museum, London, as part of a retrospective of "British Design 1948-2012" from 31 March to 12 August 2012.
Available books
Select bibliography
- Williams Kit, Masquerade , Jonathan Cape, 1979 (ISBNÃ, 0-8052-3747-X)
- The Williams Kit, Masquerade: Full Book with Answers Explained , Jonathan Cape, 1982 [paperback] (ISBNÃ, 0-89480-369-7)
- The Williams Kit, Unnamed Book (referred to by Williams as "Bee Book"), Knopf, 1984 (ISBNÃ, 0-394-53817-X)
- The Williams Kit, From One Eye: Art of Williams Kit , Crown, 1986 (ISBNÃ, 0-517-56431-9)
- The Williams Kit, Ingenuity Machine , Gingko Press, 2001 (ISBNÃ, 1-58423-106-8)
References
External links
- Kit and official website of his wife Eleyne Williams
- Masquerade, page by page
- Untitled Book (a.k.a. "The Bee Book") FAQ
- Expect Fish Clock
- Portal Gallery
- About Williams Kit including Frog Clock in Telford
- Art in the Middle of Summer Place the Frog Clock in Milton Keynes
- BBC Gloucestershire The man behind the mask
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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