Wednesday, April 01, 2020

roadside attraction, by an accidental artist, who happened to have the knack for mechanical things. During WW2 he was stationed on Saipan, and made a windmill powered washing machine from scrap parts of a B 29 so his Army company would have clean uniforms, for example


Vollis Simpson, a World War II veteran and prolific tinkerer, filled his farm with towering kinetic sculptures, complex metal creations with wind-powered fans and wings.

 He called them windmills, but they’re better known as whirligigs and now have the distinction of being North Carolina’s official state folk art.



This first one in the video has 14 bicycle rims and two bus mirrors....


and his largest piece (Mule Train) weighs 6 tons and has a 24 foot fan





http://www.wilsontimes.com/stories/our-opinion-whirligig-park-a-towering-testament-to-art-ingenuity,102323

1 comment:

  1. Amazing. Simply amazing. Another great story. I have family in N.C. When I go down there next time I'm going to check this out. Just don't know when that will be right now, but I will go. Soon I hope. Going to share this with them and see what they know about Vollis Simpson's art.

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