May I interest you in a moment of mechanical joy? George Rhoads, the man who designed delightful kinetic sculptures made of twists and turns and gears and track, died on July 9, 2021. His audio-kinetic ball machines can be found across the United States, from the New York Port Authority (42nd Street Ballroom; YT), to the Radys Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California, and beyond. He spoke about his life’s work in an interview in 2015.
“Each pathway that the ball takes is a different drama, as I call it, because the events happen in a certain sequence, analogous to drama…The ball gets into certain difficulties. It does a few things. Maybe there’s some conflict. They hit or they wander, whatever it is and then there’s some kind of dramatic conclusion.”
Tribute: ‘A Little Mechanical World’: Remembering George Rhoads, The Artist Behind Chase Field’s Ball Machine (kjzz.org)
Wonder: A visit with Mr. Rogers (pbs.org)
Reflection: A 20-minute documentary (YT), George Rhoads Ball Machine. “I suppose ultimately [the ball machines] are idealistic, but not in the sense of inspiring, but it’s simply showing how things are, this is how life is, interesting, very wonderful…all of life, here it is. Look at it, that’s all.”