Máquina de viento

Wind Machine is a kinetic sculpture. It uses movement for artistic effect. This work of art was commissioned and installed in 2002, just before the Museum Park opened in 2003. The sculpture is made from various recycled metal parts, including fan blades, bicycle rims, and industrial truck parts. It includes metal pinwheels and a machine part that resembles a Ferris wheel. The heavy material of the pieces contrasts with the playfulness of the sculpture’s movement in the wind.

Vollis Simpson was a self-taught folk artist and a lifelong machinist. He was 83 years old when he created Wind Machine for the NCMA. Simpson was born and raised in Wilson County, North Carolina. He first began building small wind machines when he was stationed in Saipan during World War II. After the war he built several large windmills, including one that powered the heating system in his house. He also ran a machine repair shop and built equipment that was used to move houses. In 1985 he retired and began making whimsical, spinning sculptures out of discarded vehicle parts, streetlights, and other metal objects. 

Eventually a variety of Simpson’s one-of-a-kind windmills decorated his brother’s farm in Lucama, North Carolina. Locals discovered the art, and Simpson’s sculptures became a tourist destination. In 2013 his “whirligigs” were named North Carolina’s official folk art. Today the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in downtown Wilson displays and preserves the artist’s collection of 30 wind machines.

tags: STEAM, fuerza, movimiento, parte/todo, juego, energía, reutilización, medio ambiente, física, ingeniería, torbellino