Gibbs Farm

July 28, 2012 11:21 PM

"With respect to landscape design, art, and the quality of spectacle, the picturesque 1,000 acres of Gibbs Farm afford one of the most intriguing, tastefully presented, and well-thought-out private collections of site-specific sculpture of the modern era." - Sculpture Magazine

One of the installations commissioned by Alan Gibbs is the world's largest tesla coil (video).

posted by maxwelton (16 comments total)

(The controls for the tesla coil shown in the video are exactly what I hoped controls for something like that might look like. Plus you can sit in the sphere at the top.)
posted by maxwelton at 11:22 PM on July 28, 2012

Well, this pretty much makes up for this.
posted by Mezentian at 11:54 PM on July 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

The controls for the tesla coil shown in the video are exactly what I hoped controls for something like that might look like

But can you play the Doctor Who theme on it?
posted by Mezentian at 11:55 PM on July 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

What a beautiful post.
posted by coaster at 12:26 AM on July 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Watching the dorky raver guy who actually engineered the sculpture talk about getting hired to Make Tesla HUGE he still sort of wets his pants when he thinks about it, you can tell.
...
And about 5 minutes later, when he tests the thing for the first time, and my heart is racing. So. Cool!
posted by carsonb at 12:27 AM on July 29, 2012

Fascinating post! I'm in awe at the mindset of someone who commissions the world's largest Tesla coil, and then sites it as close as possible to his own house just to make it more exciting.
posted by Azara at 2:20 AM on July 29, 2012

THIS is how you do a gallery website! The documentary videos alone are worth spending hours there. And I will.

To be honest, I'd never heard of Gibbs Farm. But this collection is fantastic. Great find!
posted by Thorzdad at 6:08 AM on July 29, 2012

Beautiful. Thanks, maxwelton.

My favorite is Niel Dawson' Horizons. So elegant. I thought it was a Lichtenstein.
posted by bru at 6:48 AM on July 29, 2012

This is great for Sunday's browsing.
posted by arcticseal at 7:52 AM on July 29, 2012

Wow, fantastic!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:42 AM on July 29, 2012

Great, thanks for posting!
posted by carter at 8:49 AM on July 29, 2012

Awesome. Enjoyed the first video (Lightning Dreams).
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:45 AM on July 29, 2012

Damn another reason to visit Kiwi Land. Simply beautiful. We must be content with the Maryhill Art Museum's Sculpture Garden
posted by pdxpogo at 11:49 AM on July 29, 2012

Amazing. Another beautiful thing about New Zealand, a place I will almost certainly never see. Damn you, New Zealand, with your incredible scenery and fantastic sculpture installations and even, so I hear, beer! Why are you so far away?
posted by mygothlaundry at 4:21 PM on July 29, 2012

even, so I hear, beer!

Beers, wines (we start seeking bad ones.. with out much luck) and even a wee dram from a few distilleries (one in Dunedin, one in somewhere else I can't spell).

Why are you so far away?

What's 24 hours (or so) on a plane between friends?

It's totally worth it.

Plus, Hobbits!
posted by Mezentian at 5:51 PM on July 29, 2012

The Oatmeal Launches Operation Let’s Build A Goddamn Tesla Museum
posted by homunculus at 11:43 AM on August 16, 2012