For the glory - and the madness!
Welcome to the only site on the web dedicated to Kineticists
Kineticists are Athletes, Sculptors, Artists, and Engineers, that work together to create Kinetic Sculptures that ride on Kinetic crafts. Kinetic crafts are handmade human powered vehicles that are designed to traverse land and water. There are many Kinetic events held around the world each year. The mission of the Kineticists.org web site is to create a global community of people that are interested in attending or participating in a Kinetics Sculpture event.
If you love Kinetic Sculpture and want to talk about it, take the time to register with Kineticists.org to make your contribution to the site. It is also an excellent way to stay in tune with what’s happening with Kinetics Sculpture Racing.
A Short History of Kineticists
The late sculptor and gallery owner Hobart Brown started Kinetic Sculpture Racing in Ferndale, California, in 1969 which grew into an annual event involving a forty-two-mile course over multiple kinds of terrain.
Ten years later, Boulder firefighter Rick Hartner witnessed this controlled madness and decided to reproduce it in Colorado. Kinetics hit the ground rolling on May 3, 1980. in Niwot, but migrated later to the Boulder Reservoir where it became an annual springtime event.
There are several kinetics events held around the country, but Boulder’s had the highest attendance. As many as forty-five thousand people came for years to “the Rez,” lured by live bands, rollicking spectators and incredible mobile sculptures.
Unfortunately, the Kinetics event became a victim of its own success. Bigger audiences meant crowd control problems and subsequent insurance issues. The declining American economy took its toll on even longtime sponsors. No official event was planned for 2008.
However, fans and participants came together as the Boulder Kineticists and managed to keep the tradition going as a charity fund-raiser on May 3, 2008. And on June 13, 2009, the fund-raiser grew into an “urban challenge” on the grounds of the Millennium Harvest House hotel near downtown Boulder.
Buoyed by continued community appreciation, Kineticists sought out a new venue for putting their crafts through their creatively wacky paces - the Union Reservoir in Longmont, CO. In partnership with the City of Longmont, the Kineticists returned to their traditional land-and-water race in 2010, with special guest appearances at Rhythm on the River, Festival on Main Street, and the Longmont Holiday Parade of Lights. Even more exciting things are already being planned for 2011 - stay tuned to this website for ALL the latest news and info!