Tim Tolkien
Encyclopedia
Tim Tolkien is an English sculptor
who has designed several monumental sculpture
s, 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 grandson of Hilary Tolkien, the younger brother of J. R. R. Tolkien). Tim Tolkien has a wood carving and metal sculpture business at Cradley Heath
, West Midlands
. He is also a bass
player and member of the band Klangstorm, founded in 1996.
Tim was raised in the village of Hughenden Valley, near High Wycombe
in Buckinghamshire and, with his two brothers, Stephen and Nick attended the local Royal Grammar School
. Several large canvasses painted by Tim still graced the school's corridors for many years after he left. He graduated with a degree in fine art (sculpture) from Reading University in 1981.
is Tolkien's most famous work to date. In 1996, he was appointed by CAN who were awarded the contract to develop public art proposals for the estate using National Lottery
money, as an artist in residence to help with regeneration of the Castle Vale
estate in Birmingham
. 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 large steel
and aluminium Sentinel
Spitfire sculpture was the result, showing three Spitfires peeling off up into the air in different directions. It was unveiled in October 2000, near the former factory
which built them, by their former test pilot
Alex Henshaw
.
, 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 November 2005.
of Treebeard
, an Ent
from The Lord of the Rings, to be erected on the Green at Moseley
, 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 by Birmingham City Council
.
, designing her armour
-like stage costumes and, in 2005, making a documentary film for BBC2, comparing New Zealand
's successful exploitation of its movie-related J. R. R. Tolkien
associations, with that of J.R.R.'s (and Toyah's) home town, Birmingham
.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
who has designed several monumental sculpture
Monumental sculpture
The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for all sculptures that are large...
s, including the award-winning Sentinel
Sentinel (sculpture)
Sentinel is a 16m high sculpture by Tim Tolkien, installed upon a traffic island at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, England....
.
His other claim to fame is as the great-nephew of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, the famous author of the fantasy book The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
(Tim Tolkien is the grandson of Hilary Tolkien, the younger brother of J. R. R. Tolkien). Tim Tolkien has a wood carving and metal sculpture business at Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
. He is also a bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player and member of the band Klangstorm, founded in 1996.
Tim was raised in the village of Hughenden Valley, near High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
in Buckinghamshire and, with his two brothers, Stephen and Nick attended the local Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.The Royal Grammar School High Wycombe is a selective grammar school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. As a state school it does not charge fees for students to attend, but they must pass an entrance exam...
. Several large canvasses painted by Tim still graced the school's corridors for many years after he left. He graduated with a degree in fine art (sculpture) from Reading University in 1981.
Sentinel
SentinelSentinel (sculpture)
Sentinel is a 16m high sculpture by Tim Tolkien, installed upon a traffic island at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, England....
is Tolkien's most famous work to date. In 1996, he was appointed by CAN who were awarded the contract to develop public art proposals for the estate using National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
money, as an artist in residence to help with regeneration of the Castle Vale
Castle Vale
Castle Vale is a housing estate located near Erdington currently Castle Vale votes with Tyburn Ward which is part of Erdington constituency, northeast of Birmingham city centre in England...
estate in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. The following year, he consulted with residents about an art project for the entrance to the estate. They favoured a sculpture featuring Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
, reflecting the area's flying history. The large steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and aluminium Sentinel
Sentinel (sculpture)
Sentinel is a 16m high sculpture by Tim Tolkien, installed upon a traffic island at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, England....
Spitfire sculpture was the result, showing three Spitfires peeling off up into the air in different directions. It was unveiled in October 2000, near the former factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
which built them, by their former test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
Alex Henshaw
Alex Henshaw
Alexander Adolphus Dumfries Henshaw MBE was a British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong in the Second World War.-Early life:...
.
Cedric Hardwicke
Tolkien also sculpted a memorial to the actor Sir Cedric HardwickeCedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
, at the latter's birthplace of Lye
Lye, West Midlands
Lye is a suburban area of the Black Country in England, between Halesowen and Stourbridge in Dudley Metropolitan Borough, West Midlands. It was formerly a village in the parish of Oldswinford, Worcestershire...
, West Midlands, for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...
. 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 Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American monochrome film starring Charles Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
, The Shape of Things to Come, and The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein, is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and features Lon Chaney, Jr...
. It was unveiled in November 2005.
Ent
His proposals for a 20-foot high statueStatue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of Treebeard
Treebeard
Treebeard is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The eldest of the species of Ents, he is said to live in the ancient Forest of Fangorn and stands fourteen feet in height and is tree-like in appearance, with leafy hair and a rigid structure. Fangorn Forest...
, an Ent
Ent
Ents are a race of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees. They are similar to the talking trees in folklore around the world. Their name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for giant....
from The Lord of the Rings, to be erected on the Green at Moseley
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
, 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 by Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
.
Other
- James Watt's Mad MachineJames Watt's Mad MachineJames Watt's Mad Machine is a set of sculptural railings and gates at Winson Green Metro station, Winson Green, Birmingham, England, designed by Tim Tolkien, supported by Eric Klein Velderman, Paula Woof and pupils at James Watt Infants and Junior Schools, with whose site it forms a boundary.It is...
at Winson Green Metro stationWinson Green Outer Circle tram stopWinson Green Outer Circle tram stop is a tram stop in Winson Green, Birmingham England. It was opened on 31 May 1999 and is situated on Midland Metro Line 1. Its name is derived from its connection with the Outer Circle bus route....
, Birmingham (supported by Eric Klein Velderman, Paula Woof and local school pupils) - The Lanchester Car MonumentLanchester Car MonumentThe Lanchester Car Monument is an open-air galvanized steel sculpture of the Stanhope Phaeton, or Lanchester motor car. It is in Bloomsbury Village Green, a piece of reclaimed land in the Heartlands area of Birmingham, England...
, Birmingham - Redesign of Lea Hall railway stationLea Hall railway stationLea Hall railway station is situated in the Lea Hall area east of the city of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. It has two platforms, one each side of the two running lines, with no points or sidings. The ticket office is on a bridge over the tracks, which are a little below street...
, Birmingham (with Eric Klein Velderman; completed in 1998) - MosaicMosaicMosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
at Menzies High SchoolMenzies High SchoolMenzies High School is a secondary school located in the Hateley Heath area of West Bromwich, a town in the West Midlands of England. It has Science College status. The school was used as one of the filming locations for the 1986 film Clockwise, starring John Cleese. -History:It was opened in 1902...
, SandwellSandwellSandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...
, (with Eric Klein Velderman and pupils) - Sculpture at St.Nicholas School, KenilworthKenilworthKenilworth is a town in central Warwickshire, England. In 2001 the town had a population of 22,582 . It is situated south of Coventry, north of Warwick and northwest of London....
(with pupils) - DragonflyDragonflyA dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
sculpture at Hembrook Infants and Junior school, WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(with Emma Dicks; completed May 2003) - Gateway, at Belle Vue Primary School, StourbridgeStourbridgeStourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
- ArchwayTriumphal archA triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
at Springhallow School, EalingEalingEaling is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
(with pupils) - The Bluebell, at Sot's Hole Local Nature Reserve, West Bromwich
- Gates at RSPB Sandwell ValleyRSPB Sandwell ValleySandwell Valley RSPB reserve is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB, in Sandwell Valley, to the north of West Bromwich, in the Sandwell borough of West Midlands in England. It is adjacent to, and shares its main lake with, Sandwell Valley Country Park....
Toyah
He has also worked with the singer and television presenter Toyah WillcoxToyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
, designing her armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
-like stage costumes and, in 2005, making a documentary film for BBC2, comparing New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's successful exploitation of its movie-related J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
associations, with that of J.R.R.'s (and Toyah's) home town, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
External links
- Sentinel Spitfire sculpture
- Moseley Ent statue proposal
- Birmingham Post: Tolkien statue plan splits community
- Lye movie star gets civic honour
- Interview with Tim Tolkien's father
- Klangstorm