In the summer of 1987, Joseph Chua, Managing Director
of Goodwind Development Corporation, commissioned George Rhoads, the
artist, to create a three-dimensional audiokinetic sculpture for the
Micronesia Mall. The artist's studio worked closely with the Mall's
Architect, Frederick Sun, to determine the proper size and location
of the sculpture in the mall.
The final sculpture design consists of three sections reaching a total
height of twenty six feet (eight meters). Billiard balls and basketballs
are propelled by gravity into circuitous tracks randomly colliding with
an assortment of chimes, xylophones, cymbals and bells. Along the way
counterbalanced arms, "elevators" and mechanical hoists, place
the balls "back into play". The "Pelota Pagoda"
sculpture contains many of Rhoads' trademarks such as a helix, a corkscrew-shaped
ramp, a loop-the-loop, and a wok near its base, into which the balls
fall with a clang, then create a whirring sound as they make the cylindrical
descent to a hole at the base.
The top most section is a combination of the large "ball machine"
above and a towering "mechanical piece" consisting of three
large sets of rotating shapes. The shapes will rotate around their individual
axes, orbit around the central hub ("gimbals"), and move up
and down, all at speeds between .5 and 2 rpm. This adds a strong vertical
element to the piece, making it even more visible from a distance.
