Willard Wigan
Encyclopedia
Willard Wigan, MBE
(born 1957) is a sculptor
from Birmingham
, England
, who makes microscopic art. His sculptures are created in the eye of a needle or placed on the head of a pin. A single sculpture can be as small as 0.005 mm (0.0002 in).
In July 2007 Willard Wigan was honoured by HRH the Prince of Wales with an MBE for his services to art.
, Willard Wigan was ridiculed in class by his primary school teachers for not learning to read. Wigan attributes his early drive in sculpting, begun at the age of five years, to his need to escape from being ridiculed by teachers and classmates. Wigan has since been on a quest to make even smaller artworks visible only through a microscope.
The subjects of Wigan's works range from popular culture to architecture. The sculptor often refers in his work to other artists and historical events. Amongst his most famous pieces are a minute reproduction of Michelangelo's David, carved out of a single grain of sand and a commissioned miniature version of the Lloyd's building
in London. Wigan has recently created a miniature sculpture representing the Obama family and has carved a statue of astronaut Buzz Aldrin
in the eye of a needle, in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the 1969 lunar landing
. Other works include a microscopic Betty Boop
and a copy of the FIFA World Cup
trophy, both about 0.005 mm (0.0002 in) tall.
To carve his figures, Wigan uses Swann-Morton surgical blades or hand-made tools, (some of which are custom made out of a sharpened microscopic sliver of Tungsten
), which he makes by attaching a shard of diamond to a pin. The sculptures themselves are made of a wide range of materials. Wigan uses for instance nylon, grains of sand, dust fibres, gold and spider's cobwebs
, depending on the demands of the piece he is working on. To paint his creations, Wigan often uses a hair from a dead housefly, although he does not kill flies for his artistic processes.
. After a series of exhibitions in the UK, during 2009-10 Wigan went on tour in the USA.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(born 1957) is a sculptor
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...
from 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, who makes microscopic art. His sculptures are created in the eye of a needle or placed on the head of a pin. A single sculpture can be as small as 0.005 mm (0.0002 in).
In July 2007 Willard Wigan was honoured by HRH the Prince of Wales with an MBE for his services to art.
Life and work
As a child with undiagnosed dyslexiaDyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, Willard Wigan was ridiculed in class by his primary school teachers for not learning to read. Wigan attributes his early drive in sculpting, begun at the age of five years, to his need to escape from being ridiculed by teachers and classmates. Wigan has since been on a quest to make even smaller artworks visible only through a microscope.
The subjects of Wigan's works range from popular culture to architecture. The sculptor often refers in his work to other artists and historical events. Amongst his most famous pieces are a minute reproduction of Michelangelo's David, carved out of a single grain of sand and a commissioned miniature version of the Lloyd's building
Lloyd's building
The Lloyd's building is the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London, and is located at 1, Lime Street, in the City of London, England.-Design:...
in London. Wigan has recently created a miniature sculpture representing the Obama family and has carved a statue of astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
in the eye of a needle, in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the 1969 lunar landing
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
. Other works include a microscopic Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
and a copy of the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
trophy, both about 0.005 mm (0.0002 in) tall.
Materials and techniques
On average it takes Wigan about eight weeks to complete one sculpture in a process that is physically challenging. Because the works are so minute, the sculptor has learned to control his nervous system and breathing to ensure he does not make even the tiniest movement. Wigan, when working, enters a meditative state in which his heartbeat is slowed, allowing him to reduce any hand tremors and work between heartbeats.To carve his figures, Wigan uses Swann-Morton surgical blades or hand-made tools, (some of which are custom made out of a sharpened microscopic sliver of Tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
), which he makes by attaching a shard of diamond to a pin. The sculptures themselves are made of a wide range of materials. Wigan uses for instance nylon, grains of sand, dust fibres, gold and spider's cobwebs
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
, depending on the demands of the piece he is working on. To paint his creations, Wigan often uses a hair from a dead housefly, although he does not kill flies for his artistic processes.
Exhibitions and American Tour
In 2009 Wigan appeared as a guest speaker at the TED Conference in Oxford, UK. and later that year also as a guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'BrienThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
. After a series of exhibitions in the UK, during 2009-10 Wigan went on tour in the USA.
External links
- http://www.wiganart.com/ - Official site
- BBC Birmingham biography
- Snopes page with images