November 2011
Vollis Simpson
Backwoods North Carolina, east of Raleigh reigns the King of the Wirligigs 92 year old Vollis Simpson. A veteran of World War 2, Simpson is a retired farm machinery repairman who uses discarded steel and aluminum to produce his unique folk art. What started as a hobby after retirement has turned into a respected art form considered by many as a true form of Americana.
The pieces move and are large up to 50 feet high with a subtle sense of color and balance. Simpson does not watch himself being an artist and is a bit taken aback by the attention although his pieces have graced Bergdoff Goodman in Manhattan as well as varied museums. One of 12 childrem he made his first windmill while stationed in Saipan during WW2 from a junked B-29
