Kit Williams | |
---|---|
Born | Kent, England | 28 April 1946
Nationality | English |
Known for | Painting, books, clocks |
Christopher "Kit" Williams (born 28 April 1946) is an English artist, illustrator and author best known for his 1979 book Masquerade , a pictorial storybook which contains clues to the location of a golden (18 carat) jewelled hare created by Williams and then buried "somewhere in Britain". [1]
Williams published three other books and was commissioned to create three public clocks with elaborate mechanisms and moving parts, such as animals, for visual interest.
Born in Kent, England, Williams continues to paint figurative art at his studio in Gloucestershire.
Kit Williams now primarily works as a figurative painter in which he uses traditional oil-painting techniques, fashioning first a wooden panel covered in linen and oil gesso. He then uses many layers of opaque and transparent Dutch oil paint to create luminous images.
Williams likes to maintain complete control of every aspect of his artwork including making the clothes worn by the models, creating sets and props, and often making mechanisms either within the frame or the painting that reveal moving elements of the artwork and encourage interaction by the viewer.
Using marquetry, he has always made his own frames which enables him to make pictures of any shape and allow elements of the picture to continue into the frame in often intricate detail. [2]
As well as his best-known book, Masquerade , Williams wrote The Bee on the Comb , a puzzle book with a bee theme. The book was initially published without a visible title, and readers were challenged to work out the title from clues inside the book and send in their answer without using the written word. This competition ran for just a year and a day, and the winner was revealed on the live BBC TV chatshow Wogan .
In 1985 Kit Williams designed the Wishing Fish Clock, a centrepiece of the Regent Arcade shopping centre in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. More than 45 feet tall, the clock features a duck that lays a never-ending stream of golden eggs and includes a family of mice that are continually trying to evade a snake sitting on top of the clock. Hanging from the base of the clock is a large wooden fish that blows bubbles every half-hour. Catching one of these bubbles entitles you to make a wish, hence the name of the clock. The clock has undergone essential restoration work and is back in full working order as of 12 May 2017 [update] .
Other clocks designed by Williams can be found in Telford Shopping Centre and in the Midsummer Place section of Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.
Williams was also involved in the design of the Dragonfly Maze in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England, which comprises a yew maze with a pavilion at the centre. The object is not only to reach the pavilion, but to gather clues as one navigates the maze. Correctly interpreting these clues when one reaches the pavilion allows access to the maze's final secret.
In August 2009 Kit Williams was reunited with the golden hare from Masquerade, which he had not seen for more than 30 years. [3] He was quoted as saying:
This reunion was revealed in a 60-minute documentary about Williams's work, The Man Behind The Masquerade, shown on BBC Four on 2 December 2009. The programme began with Masquerade and ended with an exhibition of the best 18 pieces of his art from the previous 30 years at the Portal Gallery, which had first exhibited his work in the 1970s. The programme showed Williams being reunited with the golden hare for the first time when it was loaned by its anonymous present owner, who lives in East Asia. [4]
The hare was on display at the V&A Museum, London, as part of its retrospective "British Design 1948–2012" from 31 March to 12 August 2012. [5]
Milton Keynes is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over 256,000. The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Cheltenham, also known as Cheltenham Spa, and sometimes called "the Garden Town of England", is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the most complete Regency town in Britain.
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It lies 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Telford town centre, 12 miles (19 km) west of Stafford, and is near the Shropshire-Staffordshire border. The 2001 census recorded 10,814 people living in the town's parish, which rose to 11,387 by the 2011 census.
Masquerade is a picture book, written and illustrated by Kit Williams and published in August 1979, that sparked a treasure hunt by including concealed clues to the location of a jewelled golden hare that had been created and hidden somewhere in Britain by Williams. The book became the inspiration for a genre of books known today as armchair treasure hunts.
A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work in small teams, although the rules may allow individuals to participate. The goal is to be the first to complete the list or to complete the most items on that list. In variations of the game, players take photographs of listed items or be challenged to complete the tasks on the list in the most creative manner. A treasure hunt is another name for the game, but it may involve following a series of clues to find objects or a single prize in a particular order.
Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse is a treasure hunting puzzle published in 1984 by the Intravision production company. It was conceived as a story-based contest by filmmaker Sheldon Renan similar in concept to that of Kit Williams' book Masquerade. The puzzle was presented in two formats, one in an elaborate book illustrated by Jean-Francois Podevin and published by Warner Books, and the other a direct-to-video motion picture filmed by Renan and starring Doryan Dean with Elisha Cook, Jr. in a supporting role. Voice-over narration was provided by actor Richard Lynch with music by composer Jesse Frederick. The film was first aired on cable television and subsequently sold on VHS, Capacitance Electronic Disc, and Laserdisc formats by Vestron Video.
Titania is a character in William Shakespeare's 1595–1596 play A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council.
Campbell Park is the name of the central park for Milton Keynes (England) and of a ward of Central Milton Keynes civil parish..
The Concrete Cows in Milton Keynes, England are an iconic work of sculpture, created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Leyh. There are three cows and three calves, approximately half life size.
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened on 28 April 2000 and was officially opened on 12 October 2000 by Queen Elizabeth II.
An automaton clock or automata clock is a type of striking clock featuring automatons. Clocks like these were built from the 1st century BC through to Victorian times in Europe. A Cuckoo clock is a simple form of this type of clock.
The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre:mk which opened in 1979, and Midsummer Place opened in 2000. The centre:mk is anchored by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. The complex is the 14th largest shopping centre in the UK, with the size of 120,773 sq metres.
Derek John Walker was a British architect primarily associated with urban planning and leisure facilities architecture, through his firm Derek Walker Associates.
Hareraiser was a video game released in 1984 in the UK in two parts: Prelude and Finale. The game was published for Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro Model B, Commodore 64, VIC-20, Dragon 32, MSX, Oric Atmos, and ZX Spectrum at £8.95 for each part.
The Clock Tower is a free-standing clock tower in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1888 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the distinctive structure included innovative structural features and became a landmark in the popular and fashionable seaside resort. The city's residents "retain a nostalgic affection" for it, even though opinion is sharply divided as to the tower's architectural merit. English Heritage has listed the clock tower at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
Rabbits and hares (Leporidae) are common motifs in the visual arts, with variable mythological and artistic meanings in different cultures. The rabbit as well as the hare have been associated with moon deities and may signify rebirth or resurrection. They may also be symbols of fertility or sensuality, and they appear in depictions of hunting and spring scenes in the Labours of the Months.
The Bee on the Comb is an armchair treasure hunt book, written and illustrated by Kit Williams and published in May 1984. It is a follow-up to Williams' previous treasure hunt book Masquerade, although not a direct sequel.
Birmingham Market Hall was a municipal market hall in the Bull Ring area of Birmingham, England, from 1835 until 1940, when the interior and roof were destroyed by wartime bombing; although the shell of the building remained in use until final demolition in the 1960s.