Harmony McNish
Windmill
Sculpture
2021
All materials were salvaged from scrap piles and found throughout the outbuildings on the property of my family's homestead: John Deere Alternator, scrap metal, electrical wire, incandescent accessory light bulb, PVC pipe, and an assortment of bolts, washers and, nuts
Tripod 66" Base X 136" High / Diameter of blade span 90"
When the windmill encounters an environment of high winds an alternator powered from extreme winds powers a tiny light bulb.
“Windmill, a symbol of the traditional farm, yet still industrially revisited to sustain the consumption of electricity. The work rests on the fact that the windmill only functions to produce electricity in unnatural circumstances, in relation to it’s not overly windy location. The windmill needs fast wind in order to spin speeds for the alternator to reach a certain RPM to start the electrical current. Without extremely fast winds to illuminate the white light, the light dims to a warm orange. In slow spins the light does not even flicker. Windmill consists of plastic blades that are connected to a shaft that is welded to an alternator. An alternator is mounted on a tripod that has support bracers relatively close to the top of the pyramid. The bracer that is horizontal to the fan has a small exposed light bulb hanging from the support bar. The bulb is supported by steel wire twisted around the electrical wire and is smaller in size than an acorn. The scale difference between the light bulb and the large structure was intentional because I wanted to put an emphasis on the movement of the wind pushing the heavy blades, rather than the focus being on the power generated.”