Kempf Kinetic Sculpture

This is a steel kinetic sculpture built by Starr Kempf. The two long arms move with the wind. He killed himself in 1995 and the family gave this to be displayed in a courtyard of the Plaza of the Rockies in downtown Colorado Springs, CO. Previous to his death, he had a bunch of these huge things in his front yard; his neighbors hated the traffic they created! Some rotated like this; others spun on a vertical axis; and even others rocked back and forth.

Unfortunately, this location shields the sculpture from most of the winds so it is kind of inert compared to its activity on its former location. Many people think this is some kind of clock when they first see it until they realize the "hands" move at random.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• kinetic
• sculpture
• culture
• travel

[AirVengeance318]

It was a real embarrassment the way the city treated his estate. He was local icon and a beautiful artist. He will always be remembered by the true Colorado Springs natives not the current batch of local snobs.

[greenhouse11]

think your right ouray09. what are the judges credentials are they ligit? would love to know who all is invested in this property.

[ouray09]

I don't think his family donated this sculpture in fact this is one of the sculptures that the city deemed "unsafe" to be in his yard because it was too close to the street. After the city forced them to remove it for safety reasons they offered his widow $100,000 to put this "unsafe" sculpture downtown.