Junk Yard RobotsWilliam “Robot Man” Clark (b. 1956)
About the Artist/Site
New Jersey car mechanic William Clark began building “robots” out of auto parts after his driver’s license was suspended in 1980. At first he created some small figures to stave off boredom, but after his license was restored, he realized he had lots of “visual ideas” he wanted to explore. Over the next 10 years, he would create dozens of robot musicians, greeters, marksmen, and junkyard dogs–some as large as 20 feet tall—and install them around his family’s auto repair shop in Newtonville, in the Pinelands region of New Jersey.
Clark soon gained the nickname “Robot Man,” an appellation he welcomed and had embroidered on his work clothes. Although a small junkyard abutted his repair shop, he often scoured other yards for car parts. Several junk dealers became patrons, returning Clark’s welded figures to the settings from which they originated. EL & M Auto Recycling in Hammonton, New Jersey, continues to display a large number of Clark’s brightly painted robots, which act as ushers for rows of goods.
~Holly Metz
Materials
founds materials
SPACES Archives Holdings
1 folder: images
Map & Site Information
Buena, New Jersey, 08346
us
Latitude/Longitude: 39.5682588 / -74.8536372
Nearby Environments
Can you provide SPACES with images of this art environment?
Please get in touch!
Jugg City USA (aka Milk Jug Lady)
Mays Landing, New Jersey
Can you provide SPACES with images of this art environment?
Please get in touch!
Pleasantville Mural House
Pleasantville, New Jersey
Post your comment
Comments
No one has commented on this page yet.