Kinematic Playplace
McDonalds
OakCreek, WI 2005
OakCreek, WI 2005
In many McDonalds restaurants, a wonderland of colorful tubes and playful gadgets calls children beyond the dining area and into the play place. Commonly, these two areas are separated by a drab glass wall. The McDonalds in Oak Creek, Wisconsin decided to change this by including one of my sculptures in the partition between the dining area and the play place.
This sculpture is completely enclosed in an acrylic display case that is part of the glass partition. The sculpture runs continuously during business hours, and features five track switches feeding six different tracks. The features include multiple loop-the-loops, double bongo hop, ball jump, swinging arm, large spiral, and meandering tracks. The collection surface is made of clear acrylic, which continues the clear theme, and allows the viewer an unobstructed view of all the parts. If you look closely at the structural elements of the sculpture, you can see an image as if looking through a window.
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The display case was built specifically for this sculpture during the restaurant's renovation. I determined the exact dimensions of the sculpture and worked with the builder to create the correct style of display case. During installation, the sculpture simply slid into the space exactly as planned. This is a testament to the quality craftsmanship of the display case, and good planning prior to installation. The sculpture was installed in July of 2005.
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By layering the switches, some track elements, such as the double bongo hops, occur only once every four minutes. Because of this delay, many times the viewer may not always see the track event happen. This feature really makes people sit and watch, waiting to see everything happen or simply to wait around to see their favorite element happen again.
By far, the most rewarding part of building and installing a rolling ball sculpture is watching the people of all ages enjoy it. At times, I receive great e-mails from fans who love the sculptures. Here is one of the best responses any kinetic artist could hope to read. |
Dear Eddie, |