Aeolian Electric Project

Wonders of Nature by Cade Sundvahl. Photo by Elliot Montgomery

The Problem: Design a kinetic sculpture to make wind power approachable on a human scale that creates its own power and uses it.

Through a grant from HEYA’s now-ended year-long experimental project, I was charged with trying do just that. The Aeolian Electric Project was just beginning.

Naturally when I imagine electricity production, specifically wind power, I imagine big, serene, white windmills strewn on an otherwise desolate landscape, their blades rotating gently in the breeze. That is so far beyond approachable to me, it feels impossible. First, the scale is often hundreds of feet high, with each blade being at least as long as a semi-truck.

The solution first had to address the size issue. Simple enough: choose a size that would make the viewer inquisitive and want to touch it, as if you were at a science museum.

Next, I had to make my solution intriguing. The underlying concept is a pinwheel that generates power and uses that power to create light. The mesmerizing part is the second pinwheel that spins in the opposite direction, creating a kaleidoscope effect when the light shines through it’s colorful transparent wings from behind.

After several trips to local hardware and art stores plus at least three trips to local Radio Shacks, I completed my piece: The Wonders of Nature. I shipped it to Solar One in NYC. I couldn’t attend it, as traveling 3000+ miles across the country wouldn’t be very “green,” but I enjoyed it via the various blog posts and pictures that came of it.