In the early 1980s, I studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. And there I fell in love with a sculpture that we walked past every day on campus called "The Chrinitoid," officially named "Two Rectangles, Vertical Gyratory Up, Variation III" by the artist, George Rickey. Rickey had been a professor of architecture and art at RPI in the 1960s, and his sculpture was still installed at the college when I went there.
Above: Rickey's Chrinitoid as installed at RPI, with thanks to the RPI archives.
But these photos do not do the piece justice. You see, Rickey's work is kinetic — it moves with the wind. Those huge steel slabs, balanced perfectly, revolving gracefully in the breeze ... so beautiful, lovely, even. It meant a lot to me back then. Sadly, RPI lost the piece when the college would not cough up the cash to buy it outright from Rickey. Alas.
Rickey made several Chrinitoids (see the one at the top with the artist, in Holland). But that's just the tip of the iceberg of his work. Later in life, he created many pieces of kinetic art. The George Rickey Foundation is a great place on the Internet to explore his work. And there are videos sprinkled around the site, because you have to see them MOVE to appreciate them fully. For a more concise recap of his life and work, the George Rickey Wikipedia article. The wiki gallery has a modern color photo of the Rotterdam Chrinitoid.
Why did the nerdy kids at RPI name it the Chrinitoid? Beats me. But it has fascinated more than one alum. Check out these articles by a grad who also recalls it fondly.
All this came to mind yesterday when I visited The Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens with my wife and sister. Located on the grounds of the Pepsico corporate headquarters, it is a huge beautiful collection of art open to the public on weekends. There, I saw a George Rickey piece, "Double L Excentric Gyratory II" (1981). Check out this Youtube video of the art in motion. Here's a photo of my beautiful sister taking a selfie with the art in the background.
And here I am in my own selfie, wearing the art as antennae.
This work has a special meaning to me as the official kinetic sculpture of my indie TTRPG, Labyrinths & Liontaurs. Because of the double Ls!
This hardly begins to describe the wealth of George Rickey art in my neck of the woods. For a future screed:
