- Tim Tolkien
Tim Tolkien (born
1962 ) is a British sculptor who has designed several monumental sculptures, including the award-winning Sentinel.His other claim to fame is as the great-nephew of
J. R. R. Tolkien , the famous author of the fantasy book "The Lord of the Rings " (Tim Tolkien is the son of Julian Tolkien, who is the son of Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, who is the brother of J. R. R. Tolkien). Tim Tolkien has a wood carving and metal sculpture business atCradley Heath , West Midlands. He is also a bass player and member of the band Klangstorm, founded in 1996.Works
entinel
"Sentinel" is Tolkien's most famous work to date. In
1996 , he was appointed by CAN [( http://www.can-uk.co.uk)] who were awarded the contract to develop public art proposals for the estate usingNational Lottery money, as an artist in residence to help with regeneration of theCastle Vale estate inBirmingham . The following year, he consulted with residents about an art project for the entrance to the estate. They favoured a sculpture featuring Spitfires, reflecting the area's flying history. The largesteel and aluminium "Sentinel" Spitfire sculpture was the result, showing three Spitfires peeling off up into the air in different directions. It was unveiled in October2000 , near the formerfactory which built them, by their formertest pilot Alex Henshaw .Cedric Hardwicke
Tolkien also sculpted a memorial to the actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke, at the latter's birthplace of Lye, West Midlands, for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. The memorial takes the form of a giant filmstrip, the illuminated cut metal panels illustrating scenes from some of Sir Cedric's best-known roles, which include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Shape of Things to Come, and
The Ghost of Frankenstein . It was unveiled in November2005 .Ent
His proposals for a 20-foot high
statue ofTreebeard , anEnt from The Lord of the Rings, to be erected on the Green atMoseley , near J. R. R. Tolkien's childhood home in Birmingham, have met with some controversy, but permission for its erection - scheduled for May 2007 - has been granted byBirmingham City Council .Other
*"
James Watt's Mad Machine " at Winson Green Metro station, Birmingham (supported by Eric Klein Velderman, Paula Woof and local school pupils) [http://www.centro.org.uk/wwwroot/Art/Birmingham/locations/Winson%20Green.asp]
*TheLanchester Car Monument , Birmingham [http://www.bplphoto.co.uk/imagefiles/F23/pages/F23-034.html]
*Redesign ofLea Hall railway station , Birmingham (with Eric Klein Velderman; completed in1998 ) [http://www.centro.org.uk/wwwroot/Art/Birmingham/locations/Lea%20Hall.asp]
*Mosaic at Menzies High School,Sandwell (with Eric Klein Velderman and pupils) [http://www.schools.sandwell.net/menzies/news.htm]
*Sculpture at St.Nicholas School,Kenilworth (with pupils) [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jeremy.eastaugh/mill01.html]
*Dragonfly sculpture at Hembrook Infants and Junior school,Warwickshire (with Emma Dicks; completed May2003 ) [http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/corporate/artsdata.nsf/2bad409a4dffa9a780256bc600351a05/335501d35b19570780256cf7005941e4?OpenDocument]
*Gateway, at Belle Vue Primary School,Stourbridge [http://www.belle-vue.dudley.gov.uk/school-information/sculpture.htm]
*Archway at Springhallow School,Ealing (with pupils) [http://www.thisisealing.co.uk/education/schoolnews/display.var.396459.0.pupils_get_a_spring_in_their_step.php]
*The Bluebell, at Sot's Hole Local Nature Reserve, West Bromwich [cite web |url=http://www.edkins.com/sotshole/news.htm |title=The Friends of Sot’s Hole|accessdate=2008-09-21 |publisher=The Friends of Sot's Hole |date=Spring 2008]Toyah
He has also worked with the singer and
television presenter Toyah Willcox , designing herarmour -like stage costumes and, in2005 , making a documentary film forBBC2 , comparingNew Zealand 's successful exploitation of its movie-relatedJ. R. R. Tolkien associations, with that of J.R.R.'s (and Toyah's) home town,Birmingham .References
External links
* [http://www.spitfire-sculpture.co.uk/spit1.htm Sentinel Spitfire sculpture]
* [http://moseleystatue.org/ Moseley Ent statue proposal]
* [http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_objectid=15530734&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=tolkien-statue-plan-splits-community-name_page.html Birmingham Post: Tolkien statue plan splits community]
* [http://online.dudley.gov.uk/news/fullrelease.asp?recid=2097 Lye movie star gets civic honour]
* [http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/archive/display.var.307760.0.related_to_tolkien.php Interview with Tim Tolkien's father]*Klangstorm
** [http://www.hacha.net/reviews/Relix%20Magazine%20and%20Relix%20Records.htm review]
** [http://web.archive.org/web/20021010142407/www.under-score.freeserve.co.uk/klangstorm/ archived website]*Toyah
** [http://littletears.co.uk/archiveinterviews123.html Armour for Toyah]
** [http://www.toyahwillcox.com//cgi-bin/diary//display.pl?i=1118090437 Film with Toyah]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.