Tall Boy

sails on a boat; in light air my sails are often held aloft, seemingly suspended in midair, quivering in some mellifluous design. Windchyme is made up of opposing materials. An uncontained, irregular triangular-shaped sail, made of Dacron sailcloth, has a balanced metal weight attached at the bottom. Two 14-ft hollow metal tubes rising from triangular steel bases support the sail via a fine stainless steel cable strung between them. The sail hangs suspended from this cable (its only tether) via stainless steel boat clips. Rising up from between the large poles are three metal cylinders attached to small metal rods, anchored by a small steel triangle. These tubes surround the base of the sail and its metal weight. A patient onlooker is rewarded with the sound of chimes emulating the resonance of Buddhist temple bells. This Zen connection is made at the whim of the wind. TEAM ILLUSION David B. Hickman, DH Sculpture Studio, 7434 Coronado Avenue, Dallas, TX 75214, U.S.A. Received 7March 1990. Acceptedfor publication fry RogerF. Malina. Team Illusion (Fig. 4) is a grouping of six life-size bicycle forms, with each form individually mounted on a single shaft, free to align with the prevailing wind. The work represents a pace line of bicycle racers working together against the resistance of the wind. The illusion of speed and movement is conveyed by the streamers blowing back from the goggles of the racers. The solid rear disc wheel of each bicycle form acts as the tail of the windmill and always remains down wind, even in low wind conditions. I hope that viewers react with a smile to the intended playful nature of the work. My artistic goals are to produce representational forms that suggest movement and, in this case, actually do move. AURORA VARIANT Jerome Kirk, 874 Forty-First Street, Oakland, CA 94608, U.S.A. Received 28 February 1990. Acceptedfor publication fry RogerF. Malina. Aurora Variant (Fig. 5) consists ofa Y -shaped column, a flat, triangular axle housing and three movable aluminum rings that can be nudged into motion with a gentle touch. The rings are sensitively balanced to swing, independently of each other, in a very slow, rolling motion in parallel planes. Their periods of 22, 26 and 28 sec are timed a few seconds apart so that their mobile configuration keeps randomly changing. Their silent Fig. 5. Jerome Kirk, Aurora Variant, aluminum and stainless steel, 401ft x 30 x 16 in, 1990. pendular motion gradually diminishes to a halt after approximately 35 min. The rings are then in stable equilibrium, and the sculpture always assumes the same static configuration . Maximization of the duration of the manually induced pendular motion in still air depends on the optimum combination of the distribution of mass of a moving element (minimizing thickness or width to cut air resistance) and the axle diameter, consistent with the degree of strength desired and required, based on experience . All variables are interrelated. My approach to kinetic sculpture involves visualizing static shapes and patterns, whether geometric, free form or figurative, realizing their potential to form infinite combinations and then solving the problem of releasing them to do their mesmerizing dance, providing an endless variety of mobile compositions revealed before our eyes through slow, random, sustained, pendular motion, never again to recycle in the same possibility. TALLBoy O. Evan Lewis, 312 North Laflin, Apt. 5W, Chicago, IL 60607, U.S.A. Received 16 March 1990. Acceptedfor publication fry RogerF. Malina. Tall Boy (Fig. 6) is a large-scale kinetic wind-sound sculpture. At its heart is an iron bell, which is a section of pipe 20 inches in diameter, capped at the top end. Weighing over 200 lb, this bell hangs as counterweight from a balanced vertical vane that stands 20 ft high. The vane pivots 360' and has a rudder steering it into the wind. The force of the wind pushes the vane, causing it to lean over, swinging the bell that hangs below. At the bottom a framework supports a clapper that stands concealed inside the bell. When the bell moves, it strikes the hidden clapper, sometimes gently, other times loudly, depending on the force of the wind. Hanging...