By Shaiyann Palmore
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
In just three short weeks the American Visionary Art Museum’s Kinetic Sculpture Race will return to the streets of Baltimore after a pandemic hiatus.
The race will be on Saturday May 7. Opening ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. in front of the American Visionary Art Museum. This year’s theme is time warp. Participants that follow this theme can create a vehicle that resembles a time traveling machine or something from the past.
“It can’t be too big, too tall, or too long in order to travel on city roads,” said Tom Jones, 52, web architect consultant. “It’s a very distinctive event. It is a collision of art and engineering that allows people to express creativity.”
The human-powered sculptures must fit within the following dimensions: 8 feet wide, 13 feet tall and 35 feet long. Each creature must carry a homemade sock creature. This is an item of psychological comfort that must look like it was made from a sock.
All over the city, sculptors like David Hess, 57, are working in garages and studios preparing for the race. For this year’s race, Hess is rebuilding his PLATYPUS, an acronym for Personal Long Range All Terrain Yacht Proven Unsafe.
“The first year we built a vehicle called Ruby the dragon,” Hess said, who’s first year in the race was 1999. “There were only a few vehicles that year and I’ve participated every year since then.”
Sculpture race team members include a driver, a group of peddlers and a pit crew that work together to get to the finish line. Hess’s team is multigenerational.
“My dad rides with us and he’s 85,” he said. “My son is the youngest. He’s only 27.”
Elias Hess, the “youngster” on the team, has participated in the race since he was 4 years old. In 2002 he won the Spirit of the Founder and Pilot’s Choice awards.
“It was very cool. None of my friends were doing it so I thought I was unique,” he said. “The race was the best day of the year.”
The race started with six vehicles in 1999 and has grown to include over 30 vehicles that combine vibrant presentations of art with the science of movement. The museum provides a theme to spark inspiration, but participants are welcome to create a sculpture that represents their own artistic vision.
“We’re inspired by the race. It all has to work on water, land, and through the mud, the vehicle itself probably weighs about 2,000 pounds,” Hess said. “It’s something we look forward to like people look forward to Christmas.”
The race typically begins at 10 a.m. on Covington Street, moving first towards the Inner Harbor. From there, the race passes through historic waterfront neighborhoods such as Federal Hill, Patterson Park and Fell’s Point.
At 11 a.m. participants reach Canton Waterfront Park where entries must complete the on-the-water portion of the race. For many this is the most gut-wrenching part of the race, a real-life sink or swim situation.
“I like watching the entries go into the water because sometimes teams haven’t had any time to prepare and sculptures tip over and sink.” Jones said. “Most of them make it but it’s the biggest challenge and most dramatic moment for almost every team.”
For others, the sand and mud obstacle course at the halfway point in Patterson Park is the most challenging. As if the race isn’t hard enough, participants also have to worry about the keneticops. Though they are real police officers with the main purpose of keeping everyone safe, they join in on the playful nature of the race as well.
“The keneticops, they’re funny in the way that they make up rules on the spot,” Elias Hess said. “They give you tickets for things like smiling.”
From Patterson Park the participants head toward the finish line around 4 p.m. at the American Visionary Art Museum. They are greeted by cheering spectators along the street. There are various awards presented to winners for attributes such as speed, engineering, best break down and more.
The celebration of this event restores the sense of community in the city.
“It brings art, performance, and AVAM’s mission to the streets of Baltimore, sometimes to an audience that doesn’t know anything about the museum or about art in general,” Hess said. “I don’t know anyone who sees the race and thinks it’s anything but amazing.”
For more information about the race visit keneticbaltimore.com.