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William Clark, Junk Yard Robots

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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



SPACES Archive Holdings

1 folder: images

Map and site information

Not Exact Address
Buena, New Jersey, United States
Latitude/Longitude: 39.528045 / -74.944885

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