The Whirlydoodle Project: an Experiment with Informal Environmental Public Art

The idea started as a way to test the awareness and acceptance of wind energy: Place a number of Whirlydoodles before the public and try to monitor what might be their response. I had been following the controversy and public debate about the safety and practicality of windmills for many years, everything from allegations of bird strikes, noise and TV interference to the loss of the landscape aesthetic. And I had been making and tinkering with small windmills for even longer and eventually found that converting wind energy directly into colorful light created a beautiful kinetic art.  As nighttime breezes rose and fell, pure color hues appeared and blended into a myriad of twirling colors, a mesmerizing lightshow of the wind. A friend called them Whirlydoodles.

I shared Whirlydoodles with local supporters of wind energy and proposed them as a tool for community education and to support several proposed wind farms.  The utility industry wanted windmills to be invisible in the landscape, and certainly not illuminated in any way. One industry leader suggested the only thing worse would be if Whirlydoodles had sound. Eventually met Dave Konkle and the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association- a nonprofit organization promoting renewable energy and education in the region. Dave thought they were pretty cool and turned me on to some of his connections. We felt that whimsical nature of Whirlydoodles might change how people perceive windmills and presented them at several wind energy events. We found that even people opposed to wind energy liked Whirlydoodles! Using the Whirlydoodle as a prop started the conversation at an entirely different place. It didn’t hurt that their wife or children wanted one for their yard or farm.

Having struck out with wind farm and utility industry but finding a small, loving group of fans, Dave and I decided to try to use Whirlydoodles as public art. I got to work in my garage making more Whirlydoodles.  As we sought funding we also wanted to test them but we grew tired of waiting and placed several Whirlydoodles around Ann Arbor.  A first we chose locations proposed for our public art exhibit-  the landfill, the city recycling station, a dog park and an empty field on the edge of town. We didn’t seek permission from the City and after our test locations expanded to a traffic intersection and a public park, it didn’t take long for City workers to notice. Dave was the consulting green energy ‘czar” for the City and was told that I would have to stop my activities and be ready to remove my items or face the consequences. Within a few days things changed, people in Ann Arbor loved the things and the city was hearing about it.  

An informal agreement was formed, which is another way of saying that as long as my guerrilla art was safe, welcomed by the community and at no cost, it could be temporarily permitted. And Dave could participate. We mapped out locations for Whirlydoodles, devised a method attach them to light poles and ultimately maintained over 50 Whirlydoodles at various locations for over 10 months. During this period we were constantly talking with merchants and people on the street. Placards about Whirlydoodles were at each location along with out contact information and a short QR cope survey. We also presented Whirlydoodles formally at several public events, such as Earth Day.

We felt that the Whirlydoodle Project was wildly successful and that we learned a lot about public art and communicating with the public.  Merchants and restaurant owners told us that customers were inquisitive about Whirlydoodles and they peppered us with questions to be able to explain the Whirlydoodles and their purpose to customers. Because the wind doesn’t always blow, and air flows through the streets were highly variable, the Whirlydoodles seemed ephemeral and that added to the mystery. People seemed surprised to first notice a Whirlydoodle suddenly blasting out color, often smiled and engaged a friend in inquiry. While only about 15 locations had a link to our QR code survey, we received 722 responses over the 10 months and over 96 percent supported a larger public are project.

Whirlydoodles really assisted in the conversation about renewable energy and supported community public relations. The City had recently installed LED- based street lighting, was saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs each year but the public really didn’t notice until they thought the new street lights were powered by Whirlydoodles. Another interesting point was that many citizens were unaware of the widespread use of solar energy by Ann Arbor businesses. A common Whirlydoodle- related question was “why the City didn’t use solar energy”. Actually, Ann Arbor has a very high prevalence of solar energy systems but because the thermal and photovoltaic collectors are on the rooftops of building and homes and don’t pour out black smoke or rumble, people were largely unaware of them.

The urban environment is at best ambivalent to public art but more often hostile. In our case, the high levels of ambient light at night competed with our tiny little windmills. Placing the Whirlydoodles low in the cityscape made them accessible to damage while the gusty, concentrated canyon winds between buildings dramatized the wind-responsive display of colors. Regardless of the difficulties, we demonstrated that art that responds to the environment, while difficult to create, is justified by its unique behavior and ability to inspire the public curiosity. We sincerely thank the City of Ann Arbor for the opportunity to contribute to their efforts for a greener and more pleasant world.