Kinetic sculpture race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Kinetic sculpture race is an organized contest of human-powered amphibious all-terrain works of art. The original event, the Kinetic Grand Championship in Humboldt County, California, is also called the "Triathlon of the Art World" because art and engineering are combined with physical endurance during a three day cross country race that includes sand, mud, pavement, a bay crossing, a river crossing and major hills.
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[edit] Race Locations
Kinetic sculpture races are held in many locations:
- Humboldt County, California hosts the annual World Grand Championship the last weekend of May. It spans 41 miles over 3 days.
- Baltimore, Maryland - the East Coast Championship sponsored by the American Visionary Art Museum covers 15 miles through downtown Baltimore and the harbor.
- Port Townsend, Washington
- Corvallis, Oregon - as part of their DaVinci Days Festival
- Ventura, California - benefits the Turning Point Foundation
- Clearlake, California - part of town's 4th of July Celebration, sponsored by the Clearlake Chamber of Commerce
- Klamath Falls, Oregon
- Prescott Valley, Arizona
- Geraldton, Western Australia
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hosts a kinetic sculpture derby as part of the Trenton Avenue arts festival in the neighborhood of Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There are other kinetic challenges, derbies and so on which follow some of the rules and traditions of kinetic sculpture racing, but are not an official part of it.
[edit] World Championship
The concept of kinetic sculpture racing originated in Ferndale, California in 1969 when local sculptor Hobart Brown "improved" the appearance of his son's tricycle by welding on two additional wheels and other embellishments. Seeing this "Pentacycle," Jack Mays challenged him to a race, and others joined in so twelve machines inaugurated the first race, down Ferndale's Main Street during the annual art festival. Neither Hobart nor Jack won; instead, the first winner was Bob Brown of Eureka, California whose sculpture was a smoke-emitting Turtle that laid eggs. The race received broad publicity when photos of Congressman Don Clausen riding the Pentacycle were seen nationally.[1]
The event was repeated in 1970, and the course subsequently expanded to include cross-country terrain. When affiliated races were initiated in other cities and the course grew, the Ferndale event became the World Championship, and has grown into the largest single event in Humboldt County.[2]
During the 1970s, the race adopted its present three day, cross-country format and became the "Triathlon of the Art World." Machines tackled mud, sand, water, gravel and pavement. Stan Bennett's book Crazy Contraptions chronicles the first five years of the race.[3] In the early 1980s, Hobart was referred to as the "Glorious Founder of the Kinetic Race" in a spectators' brochure.
As the 1980s ended, a water company began sponsoring the race, which adopted a family-friendly approach. A local manufacturer of luggage racks and car storage boxes became interested in the race. The sponsors' financial support--especially creation of the Kinetic Lab in Arcata--took the race to a new level of art and engineering. The Lab's 83-foot-long sculpture Nightmare of the Iguana was the longest ever raced.
During the 1990s, the race matured. Many contestants were younger than the race, having grown up with its philosophy, "Adults having fun so children desire to grow older," coined by Hobart Brown. As age and crippling arthritis limited his activities, Hobart sold the race rights, the kinetic chicken logo and the trademark "For the Glory" slogan to a new not-for-profit agency, called the Humboldt Kinetic Association in 2002. In January 2007, a new group, called Kinetic Universe, Inc. composed of three Rutabaga Queens took over management.
The race course covers 41 miles, crossing both Humboldt Bay and the Eel River as well as a series of dramatic sand dunes known as "Dead Man's Drop" and Eel River exit at Morgan's Slough. The race begins on Arcata Plaza with the Saturday noon whistle; the race goes through Eureka and Loleta before reaching the finish line on the third day on Main Street in Ferndale.[4]
The race is broadcast live on local radio station KHUM at 104.3 and 104.7 FM, and http://khum.com. That website also provides a kinetic blog with articles, rumors, and photos.
Changing economics caused the luggage rack company to leave the area and the water company to end their sponsorship. With no major sponsor and several years of county budget cutbacks reflecting statewide budget difficulties, in 2007 a single private donor provided 99% of the race's operating funds.[5]
In early 2007, Humboldt Kinetic Association abjured responsibility for the race. Race volunteers rapidly created Kinetic Universe, a new not-for-profit, to manage the 2007 race. Memorial Day Weekend 2008 will see the 40th annual race.
[edit] East Coast Championship in Baltimore
In 1999, the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore worked with Hobart Brown to start the first race in the Eastern United States, and has continued to sponsor the race every year since.[7] On May 2, 2008 twenty-nine teams came to Baltimore, celebrating both the 10th East Coast Championship, and the life of Hobart Brown who had died the preceding November.[8] The eleventh race is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2009.[9]
In contrast to the rural flair of Humboldt County, the Baltimore race spans the city's urban center and is completed in a single day. The 13-mile race begins with morning opening ceremonies and the start at AVAM on the south side of the Inner Harbor, continues past well-known sites including Federal Hill, the Maryland Science Center, Harborplace, the USS Constellation, the National Aquarium, and Fells Point, has a water entry at Canton, an obstacle course at Patterson Park, and then returns through the city to the finish line at AVAM in the late afternoon. An awards ceremony at AVAM concludes the event.[10][11][12]
Awards at the Baltimore race are similar to those at the World Championship, including
- Best Speed
- Best Engineering
- Best Art
- ACE -- for completing the race at a higher level of competition with stringent rules
- Golden Dinosaur -- the sculpture with the most memorable (or first) breakdown
- Worst Honorable Mention -- for the sculpture whose half-baked theoretical "engineering" did not deter its pilot from the challenge of the race
- Golden Flipper -- the most interesting water entry
- Best Pit Crew
- Best Costume(s)
- Best Bribes
- Pilots' Choice
- People's Choice
- Spirit of the Founder
- National Mediocre Champion -- the entry with a finishing time closest to the average, once all time penalties are taken into account.
In 2002, the race included a crossing of the ice rink in Patterson Park, a challenging extension of the all-terrain aspect.[13] However, in the years since then the race has been held later in the spring to benefit from warmer weather--after the rink is closed for the season.
[edit] Rutabaga Queens and other numeraries
Early in the history of the Championship, contestants began to select an annual Rutabaga Queen. This tradition continues to the present, with active Queens Pigtunia Swineheart (83/84), Queen Denise Ryles 2001, Queen Mo "Mo Betta" Burke 2002, Queen Mair "Jane Doe" Dodd 2003, Queen Monica Topping 2004, Queen Shaye Harty 2005, Queen Harmony Groves 2006c, Queen Emma "Emma the Emchantress" Breacain 2007, and Queen Lotta Paintbuckets "Kati Texas" 2008. The 2004, 2005 and 2006 Queens are the board of directors of the new non-profit entity, Kinetic Universe Inc., which now administers the Kinetic Grand Championship, 3-day Arcata to Ferndale Kinetic Sculpture Race.
Other Kinetic Races select different botanical Queens, including the Rose-Hip Queen and the Willow Kween of Port Townsend, Washington. In Australia, having already a real queen, the race selects a Goddess to rule over the festivities instead.
[edit] External links
[edit] World Championship
- Kinetic Kingdom Site Race History, Photo and Video Links, How to Build a Racer, Info about and connections to Kinetic Races Everywhere
- Kinetic Universe, Inc. Organizing committee for the 2007 and future Championships
- Kinetic Grand Championship race information for the 39th Annual Grand Championship Kinetic Sculpture Race.
- Rutabaga Queens
- Photographs of 2006 race in the water
[edit] Other Races
- KineticBaltimore.com including an extensive photo library of the East Coast Championship; Baltimore, Maryland
- Klamath Kinetic Challenge Klamath Falls, Oregon
- Da Vinci Days Kinetic Challenge in Corvallis, Oregon
- Prescott Valley, Arizona Kinetic Sculpture Race
- Port Townsend, Washington Kinetic Sculpture Race
- Kinetic Sculpture Race of Ventura, California
- Colorado Kinetic Sculpture Events
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Bennett, Stan (1975), Crazy Contraptions: A light-hearted look at Ferndale's Kinetic Sculpture Race, Low Tide Lumber Co, <http://kinetickingdom.com/KK-history/bennett1.html>
- ^ "Mediocrity Trumps in Oddball Race", Wired, April 29, 2003.
- ^ Bennett, Stan (1975), Crazy Contraptions: A light-hearted look at Ferndale's Kinetic Sculpture Race, Low Tide Lumber Co, <http://kinetickingdom.com/KK-history/bennett1.html>
- ^ Brown, Hobart & Wilson, John (1990), Kinetic Sculpture Racing, A Complete Guide: Founder Hobart Brown Tells All, Hi Heart Publishing, ISBN 1-879312-07-7
- ^ Ringwald, George (May 20, 1999), “Kinetic Countdown”, North Coast Journal, <http://www.northcoastjournal.com/052099/cover0520.html>
- ^ Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race 2007 Race Report, <http://www.kineticbaltimore.com/KSR/2007/>. Retrieved on 2 March 2008
- ^ "Kinetic Sculpture Race", National Public Radio, April 29, 2001.
- ^ Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race 2008 Race Report, <http://www.kineticbaltimore.com/KSR/2008/>. Retrieved on 21 May 2008
- ^ Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race, <http://www.kineticbaltimore.com/>. Retrieved on 2 March 2008
- ^ Williams, IV, John-John (May 6, 2006), “Peculiar contest puts artsy crafts in motion”, Baltimore Sun, <http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1033505621.html?dids=1033505621:1033505621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+7%2C+2006&author=JOHN-JOHN+WILLIAMS+IV&pub=The+Sun&desc=Peculiar+contest+puts+artsy+crafts+in+motion+>
- ^ Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race Spectator's Guide, <http://www.kineticbaltimore.com/KSR/SpectatorsGuide.asp>. Retrieved on 9 November 2007
- ^ O’Donnell, Molly (May 6, 2006), “Baltimore’s weirdest race returns”, Baltimore Examiner, <http://www.examiner.com/a-100198~Baltimore_s_weirdest_race_returns.html>
- ^ Joo Chung's Galleries : Kinetic Sculpture Race (4/13/2002), <http://www.daehwang.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=615&g2_page=6>. Retrieved on 8 April 2008
