In the small town of Wilson, North Carolina, the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Museum is attracting visitors from near and far. In the video above, UNC-TV’s North Carolina Weekend shows off the 31 restored wind-powered sculptures created by the late Vollis Simpson.
Farm machinery repairman Vollis Simpson began making gigantic kinetic sculptures at his family farm in Wilson County when he was nearing retirement age. He kept making his “whirligigs”–seven days a week–until about six months before he dies at the age of 94 in May of 2013. By that time he was famous. The story of Wilson’s campaign to use the renowned whirligigs to recharge its downtown has catapulted the community into the national spotlight.
Read more about Simpson in The New York Times: Junkyard Poet of Whirligigs and Windmills. There’s also footage of him talking about his work.
Next: Rowland Emett’s Marvelous Dream Machines, the kinetic sculptures of Anthony Howe, giant sculptures along North Dakota’s Enchanted Highway, and Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests.
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