| Hobart Brown |
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| 1933 births | |
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EARLY YEARS Hobart Brown was born in Hess, Oklahoma to a fifteen-year-old mother who migrated across country to California on the back of her husband's motorcycle. Hobart describes it as his classic Okie experience, mirroring the great migration so poignantly captured in John Steinbeck's '' The Grapes Of Wrath '' and other stories of the Dust Bowl years. Hobart went to high school in Los Angeles a couple of classes after Marilyn Monroe , whom he remembers by her real name and describes as "a quiet, plain little thing - not at all what she became later." ADULT LIFE After a stint as an airplane mechanic, where he learned welding, and time spent running hot rods with his friends on local empty roads, he decided in 1959 to become an artist and moved to Humboldt County, California . Arriving in 1962, he immediately opened the first of several ''Hobart Galleries''; the first in Eureka, California , others in Trinidad and finally Ferndale, California . Over the years, the ''Hobart Galleries'' has represented more than 150 local artists - launching several careers and providing much needed exposure to younger artists by adding them to an established stable of better-known names. Hobart was instrumental in helping Morris Graves settle in his beautiful home nestled in the hills outside Loleta, California and in helping many younger artists including Duane Flatmo get started. Hobart's Ferndale studio includes the current gallery as well as his residence and museum. During northern hemisphere winter, Hobart migrates to Australia where he is artist-in-residence, at the Leeuwin Estate Winery, Margaret River, Western Australia . In 2006-07, Hobart was unable to travel to Australia as his increasing debility due to the advancement of his particularly severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. Following several months of being in and out of treatment facilities, he suffered a stroke on May 17, 2007 and remains in difficult condition. Kinetic Sculpture Races In 1969, Hobart started the Kinetic Sculpture Race , almost by accident when he modified his son, Justin's, tricycle to a five-wheeled, decorated "Pentacycle" and another local artist and gallery owner, Jack Mays, challenged him to a race down Main Street on Mother's Day. Raceday came, so did eight other challengers. Neither Hobart nor Jack won the race, that honor goes to Bob Brown (no relation) piloting his Kinetic Turtle. The races continue. 2007 will be the 39th running - although the race is no longer just down the street. It now is the longest human powered sculpture race in the world. The course covers approximately 42 miles of sand, water, pavement, hills, more water, roads and freeways from Arcata to Ferndale. Meanwhile, Hobart continued to sculpt and start other races. About ten Kinetic Races occur every year, from Baltimore to Western Australia, the spirit of "Adults having fun so children want to get older" infects individuals everywhere it lands. His later years have been spent battling a disfiguring and crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis , while his spirit - and creative energies - remain undiminished. He continues his twice yearly peregrinations from north to south in search of the warmest, driest times of the year. Exhibits, Collectors and Awards A few of Hobart's many exhibits have included: White House and Smithsonian Museum , Washington, D.C.; the Ronald Reagan Museum, BC Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA; LA City Museum; Palm Springs Museum; Leeuwin Estates, Australia; and the Oscar Meyer Museum. Hobart's collectors include President Ronald Reagan , Johnny Carson , Congressman Don Clausen, LA City Museum, U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, Riverboat Casino Las Vegas, California Department of Transportation, the College of the Redwoods and more than 500 individuals and companies. Hobart created the Republican Party Perpetual Trophy by commission from the Party. Over the years, Hobart has received many awards including listings in Who's Who Worldwide, being made an honorary Rotarian and annual proclamations from both the Eureka and Arcata City Councils. Not unsurprising for such a tireless showman and local booster, Hobart's been covered by a full range of media including:
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