Vollis Simpson (artist)

Nationality
American
Birth/Death
1919–2013

About

Born in 1919 and deceased in 2013, Vollis Simpson was a resident of Lucama in eastern North Carolina. He built wind machines since he was stationed on Saipan, in the Mariana Islands, during World War II. After the war, his continued interest in wind power prompted him to build several other large windmills, one of which powered a heating system in his house. Mounting such diverse materials such as highway signs, fan blades, and bicycle wheels on armatures of industrial machine parts, Simpson crafts huge, highly kinetic sculptures whose parts move with the slightest breeze. While most of Simpson’s creations are on view in at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park [http://www.wilsonwhirligigpark.org/] in Wilson, NC, his wind machines have been on view at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

 

tags: NC art, NC artist, North Carolina

From Wikipedia

source content
Vollis Simpson (1919 – May 31, 2013) was an American "outsider" folk artist known for large kinetic sculptures called "whirligigs", which Simpson made from salvaged metal. He lived and worked in Lucama, North Carolina. Many of his larger pieces are on display at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina, about 10 miles from Lucama.

Artwork by Vollis Simpson