Hobart Galleries - Press Releases
393 Main Street - Ferndale, CA 95536 - 707-786-9259http://hobartgalleries.com
| PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 12, 2008 CONTACT: Ellin Beltz 707-407-6660 / 707-786-9259 EMAIL: ebeltz@ebeltz.net Sculptor's Genius Lives On Hobart Show at Ferndale Gallery he founded Ferndale, CA: Over a dozen pieces made by noted American Sculptor and resident of Ferndale Hobart Brown will be on display at Hobart Galleries, 393 Main Street, Ferndale, CA from March 21 to June 21 with a formal opening on March 21, 2008 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Memorabilia, photographs and films of past Kinetic Sculpture Races will be shown during the opening. 
Biographical details of Hobart on Wikipedia
Copper, steel and brass molded itself into fantastical creations whenever Hobart slipped on his dark glasses, hat and lit his welding torch. He was an acclaimed artist since his earliest days out of the Army, with shows in Palm Springs, Los Angeles and other population centers. He moved to Humboldt County because his father had an electrical business here; wiring ordinary and unique buildings including the Morris Graves Estate. But Hobart early on decided to make his living by art alone, not to be an electrician who does art on the weekends. He came near to starving on that philosophy many times, but he often said that creating full-time was worth missed meals and non-regular checks. His friends and neighbors helped by buying sculpture, and so Humboldt County residents may be forgiven for thinking Hobart was some funny little man making funny little sculptures that only his friends would buy. His collectors list tells a very different story; buyers include the Smithsonian Institution, the Getty Museum, the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum, numerous politicians and celebrities and a large group of wealthy people in western Australia and Asia who discovered his work in the last decade of his life while he was artist-in-residence at two prominent western Australian wineries. Pieces on display at the Hobart Show include a 1966 Stagecoach with six horses; a 2-foot tall "Pegasus" rising from a twisted block, a copper and steel "Ram," a cowboy clinging to a rearing horse, a mailman in mid-step checking his bag, a golfer in full swing (about to hit the duff), a tiny model of the Quagmire Queen Kinetic Machine, a fantastical Flying Machine, a series of three Medical Dinosaurs, and a model of the Rutan Voyager ultra-light plane as well as a model biplane, sculpture busts, metal boxes, small kinetic models and full-size kinetic sculptures including some from the earliest days of the Kinetic Sculpture Race which began 40 years ago on Mother's Day 1969. Some of the works are for sale. As one of Hobart's earliest Humboldt County collectors put it, "Social Security goes only so far in inflationary times." Hobart always told his friends that they should sell his work after he passed away; often times when he said that, he gave them another piece so they wouldn't be selling their "only Hobart." Long-time friend and volunteer bookkeeper Sylvia Jutila said, "Poor as he always was, his generosity was always amazing." Collectors contributing to this show and sale come from as far away as Baltimore, and as near as just down Main Street, Ferndale. In addition, an Australian painter, Noel McWhinnie has donated six of his acclaimed oil paintings of Australian landscapes to be sold to create a permanent memorial to Hobart Brown. This memorial fund is administered by Dr. George and Sylvia Jutila who have been in contact with McWhinnie since Hobart's demise and the pieces are on display at Hobart Galleries at the present. Closed since Hobart's death in early November, 2007, the upstairs Museum and Studio will be grandly reopened March 21 with guided tours of the studio and residence as well as the ingenious visitor counter, secret doors and hidden passages. Hobart encouraged new Kinetic Sculpture Races up and down the west coast, in Colorado, Maryland, Idaho and Arizona as well as in Poland and Australia where the Mt. Lawley Rotary sponsored the annual race for years. He is perhaps better known outside Humboldt County than in it. He was artist-in-residence at two prominent wineries in western Australia for a decade. Hobart often said his work would never "Rust, bust or collect dust." Hobart collectors interested in participating in this show can contact Ellin Beltz at Hobart Galleries, 707-786-9259 by phone or ebeltz@ebeltz.net by email. Hobart dedicated his life to the kinetic sculpture race, believing that people need purpose and that adults should have fun so children desire to grow older. By the time he passed away, Kinetic Sculpture Races had been held in on three continents. Hobart was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999; one of the reasons listed was his founding of events around the world that have no reason for being other than to make people smile. Picture to right shows Dale Loyd of Eureka, CA - a former mailman - holding a sculpture of a mailman that Hobart traded him for a stained glass window made by Mr. Loyd. 
-------- SUMMARY --------Exhibition Dates: March 21 to June 30, 2008Artist: Hobart Ray Brown (1934-2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobart_Brown Additional Works Sought: Yes for both sale and display Contact: Ellin Beltz 707-786-9259 / cell 407-6660 Location: Hobart Galleries, 393 Main Street, Ferndale, CA 95536 Website: http://hobartgalleries.com ------- BACKGROUND --------Hobart Brown moved his Eureka and Trinidad Galleries to Ferndale in 1964 at the urging of Viola McBride, a descendant of one of Ferndale's founding fathers. He immediately began and participated in the vibrant art community which grew up around the synergy of several local artists. Forty years later, only Hobart's Galleries remained; his Museum and Studio a treat to generations of Humboldt residents and around-the-world guests. Hobart's decorating style was named "Okie Baroque" by a newspaper reporter a long-time ago; it's rich with antiques, marvelous work abounds, creative labeling added to the raw beauty of the Victorian architecture. The building, 393 Main Street is an historic 1896 Eastlake-Stick style Redwood Commercial Building constructed for P.F. Hart which has been at various times a stagecoach stop, a saloon, a gambling hall, and a house of prostitution.Five years later in 1969, in an all-night welding session Hobart modified his son's red tricycle, added two wheels, an adult seat and a lot of decoration. At dawn, he realized he had "ruined" the toy and so hid it in one of the numerous closets downstairs in the gallery. Ms. Marty McConnick found it in a closet at a party and rode it around, where it was seen by other local artists, including Jack Mays who said he could do better and somehow a challenge was issued and the first Kinetic Sculpture Race was scheduled for Mother's Day, 1969 as part of the Ferndale Arts Weekend festivities. Race day happened and 10,000 people showed up. The photos from the Times-Standard nearly defy belief; people hanging off every building to see what these two crazy artists would do. But it wasn't just two artists, now it was ten. Neither Hobart on the "Pentacycle" or Jack Mays in his "Tank," won the race. That honor belongs to Bob Brown of Eureka, who is no relationship to Hobart, driving his "Turtle" that laid eggs down Main Street to the acclaim of thousands of spectators. Photos, details and earliest racers 
By 1971, photos of the race had been published around the world and by
the late 1970s the race - and its Glorious Founder Hobart Brown - was a
fixture on NBC's "Good Morning America" program as the Kinetic Sculpture
Race grew from a one block event to a 41 mile three-day test of humor,
art, engineering and pure endurance.
The Race has long heard cheers of "For the Glory!" But that saying doesn't go back to the earliest races, instead recent research in the house's huge archive of kinetic history reveals it was first said by Ms. Barbara Ludwig, one of the earliest racers - on camera with NBC. She's asked why on earth as a female she's out there sweating and pushing some improbable contraption through mud and muck or sand and gravel and she replies, "For the Glory, of course!" and three seconds later on the same clip, Hobart says, "That's it!" Ever since, the race has been run "For the Glory," the term has also grown to cover the unique brass awards and jewelry won and worn by the racers much of which was made on the tip of Hobart's torch, and the torches of those he taught and inspired in brass brazing. This year the 3-day, 41 mile cross-country Kinetic Sculpture Race will kick off for the 40th time at noon exactly on the Arcata Plaza, Saturday, May 24, head into the water in Eureka on Sunday, May 25 and on Monday May 26, 2008 tired racers arrive in Ferndale, pass below Hobart's now empty window and cheer the end of another year. In addition, in honor of the anniversary a short up Main Street Parade and down Main Street race, called the "Kinetic Klassic" is planned for Sunday May 11, 2008 in Ferndale. Machines committed include a human powered carousel from Clearlake, California, the Celestial Foo from Ferndale and as many other weird and improbable contraptions as a county full of geniuses can cook up. Rumor has it that spectators will see a thrilling reinactment of the first year's dead heat between Jack May's Plywood Tank and Hobart Brown's delicate metal Pentacycle, but perhaps those will only be ghosts rolling down the misty streets of the Victorian Village of Ferndale The Kinetic Sculpture Race passed from Hobart's hands in 2007 to a non-profit group, Kinetic Universe, Inc., founded and administered by Race Rutabaga Royalty: Queen Shaye Harty, Queen Harmony Groves and Queen Monica Topping. Hobart is gone, but his genius lives on in his work. Plan a visit to the beautiful Victorian Village of Ferndale on May 21, 2008 and feel it for yourself! | |||
About Hobart GalleriesHobart Galleries is the oldest art gallery in Humboldt County. Established in 1962 by the late sculptor Hobart Brown, the gallery has been at its present location in Ferndale since 1963. Hobart Galleries is located on Historic Main Street in the Victorian Village of Ferndale and is open 365 days a year from 11 a.m. to 5:16 p.m. although winter hours may vary slightly.Hobart Galleries * 393 Main Street * Ferndale, CA 95536-0916 * http://hobartgalleries.com Earlier Releases | |||
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Visit or Contact Hobart Galleries
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Google Map | Hobart Galleries Home Page 393 Main Street Ferndale, CA 95536 707-786-9259 Updated: March 12, 2008 |