About 15 men and women from Wilson, NC worked diligently grinding, spot welding, discussing how to carefully take things apart. They were local mechanics, welders and farmers who had enrolled in a day long course on Whirlygig Restoration. Most of them were getting paid to remove Vollis Simpsons Whirlygig's from his shop, restore them and re-install them in Wilson, but it was clear they were motivated by love and interest. What was cool was that one man's artistic work was making jobs for many of his neighbors and a hoped for economic engine for a downtown in need of a jumpstart.
My friends are Folklorists for the State of North Carolina and were overseeing the careful restoration and celebration of Vollis's life work. Brendan worked with the community and oversaw the restoration work. Jeff worked with Vollis to get his recollections on the work and it's care. Folklore is participatory anthropology. He was pretty pleased that his friends and neighbors were doing most of the work. Vollis didn't want to much of the white glove treatment. Brendan and Jeff had invited me down to see the operation. I had visited Vollis's shop for a wonderful birthday picnic under his whirlygigs. It was magic.
I got to study Vollis's work up close. He's a master of balance, connection and engineering. My Sign Wave experience gave me some specialized knowledge in the area of art with aluminum signs. I volunteered my sources.
What surprised me was the level of care that was being taken with the Whirlygigs. I saw some analogies to old house restoration. The restorers carefully tried to figure out what was essential to preserve and what was ok to cover with a new material or coating. Unlike what I imagine is art restoration, the restorers had to consider safety. The whirlygig's needed to move in the outdoors and not fall on someone. They needed to deal with hurricanes and rain. The restorers were coming up with creative solutions to the transport and restoration. The rule was WWVD? Control the rust but leave the artists hand. Everyone joked that it took one senior citizen to make and erect the structures and 15-20 guys to take it down.
I was also happy to note that some of Vollis's welds weren't pretty (I can identify). Volis doesn't have the MIG welders obsession with roll-of-coins welds. He just want's the shit to stick and then move on.
Then there was the shop! Vollis wonderful sculpture park. I was getting tired, but when I pulled up to the park I caught myself smiling in wonder. Jeff and I strolled the sculpture garden and talked about the pretty women that had come to visit the park. We also talked about Vollis ideas about how to spatially locate the sculpture within the landscape: so they don't run in to each other. The effect of this placement is overwhelming. The air above you is alive! If you forget about it's kinetic possibilities for a minute then a breeze makes everything move and buzz.
Plants and vines are always a companion to the structures. This is one of the ones he didn't raise. It will be left on the site with several others as gifts to the neighbors.
Many locals, especially teens, just took the park as part of the landscape. Some would come as a good place to hang out and watch the motion, some have something cool to look at while they were drinking, and some to climb up and fall off with a thud "that sounded like someone dropped a watermelon."
Vollis's scrap piles are hotbeds of potential: signs, bearings, bicycles.
How the heck do you move something like this.
This will be the last piece to go. When Jeff asked why, Vollis replied "I just like looking at it." Vollis doesn't think of himself as an artist.
The feeling I was left with on the drive back was how few impulses, experiences or material are really wasted if you apply the courage to be creative and desire to see what happens. I'd really be interested to know the decisions that Vollis made to transfer his considerable practical and profitable skills to make amazing gifts for his community.
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