rss feedSuck it up: With vacuum cleaner art, they live among us – it is time to take note
I returned to the scene of a story this weekend because Will Flannery’s vacuum cleaner creations at The Vac Shop in South Seattle are just simple, appealing and fun.
It’s like being at a toy store - but really, the main purpose is to buy machines to suck dirt from your carpet or to get your cleaner repaired.
Handles have become mouths. Wheels spin as eyes. Silver paint makes an airplane shine. A broom is a mustache. There is a certain robot quality to his creations.
But Flannery, who was manager, has taken the discarded, unwanted and old and created a type of an outdoor museum at Fourth Avenue South and South Lucile Street. Here’s the Google map street view image.
I met Flannery in 2007 after I was driving in the area and spotted his colorful creations near an eye-catching motel sign in front of The Vac Shop. I eventually wrote a story about him.
Not many readers commented after my company ran that story, say as compared to some of the more odd topics that I’ve covered.
But people who drive by in their cars, vans and trucks point and look. And that Space Needle that he built in 2007 sits outside near the entrance.
Flannery’s philosophy, as he tells people, is pretty straightforward:
I try to make people smile and laugh, if nothing else….I started seeing vaccums and would say, ‘That looks like something.’ I guess it’s because I can’t play with Legos as an adult.
LEGOs?
I like the LEGOs part.
For a variety of reasons, humans have been fascinated with robots for decades.
The best response to his work? I think that’s the comment from his father: “Do you ever work at that place?”
Skeptics might question the point of creating figures, animals and machines out of unwanted vaccum cleaners.
Of course, the art has no direct relationship to the gross domestic product.
But then again, we’ve been having some recent challenges with making the country’s gross domestic product really sing. Officials, though, say there are hints of some improvement.
A man at the shop told me that Flannery has left the business - to start his own in a city north of Seattle.
Apparently, he has new vacuum cleaner creations for visitors to see. I’ll have to visit him when I have the chance.
In the slideshow below, I’ve included pictures of the 15 or so robots, animals and people that remain at the corner.
Oh yes, store owner David James, who passed away recently, also gave out free Bibles to anyone who wants one. Jack Broom of The Seattle Times has the story.
Disclosure: I realize I spelled the word “vacuum” incorrectly in the cover slide above. I’ll correct that later.
