art beat / By Bob Doran

Hobart Brown RIP

(Nov. 15, 2007)  Considering the rumor that Hobart Brown’s last words were, “Alert the media,” chances are you’ve heard the sad news: Ferndale’s world-renowned artist died from pneumoniain the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 7, at Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna at the age of 73.

Best known as the “Glorious Founder” of the Kinetic Sculpture Race, a Humboldt County tradition for 39 years, Hobart’s legacy stretches beyond Kinetic madness.

GALLERY >

Hobart Ray Brown was born Feb. 27, 1934 in Hess, Okla. to a teenaged mom. The family eventually migrated to Southern California. Hobart attended high school in Los Angeles. After learning welding skills working at an airplane manufacturing plant, he decided he wanted to become an artist.

He moved to Humboldt County in 1962 with a wife and child in tow and initially landed in Eureka. That’s where he encountered Viola McBride, matriarch of an old Ferndale ranching family with an interest in the arts.

As Viola’s son, Andy McBride, recalled, “We met him when he and his wife Maggie had an art gallery in Eureka. I guess the rent was too much, so my mom convinced him he should move to Ferndale. She sold him a building she had there.”

At the time Ferndale was a sleepy cow town full of weatherworn Victorians. Main Street was lined with empty storefronts. Viola was actively engaged in revitalizing the community. Bringing in an art gallery was part of the plan. The town had already instituted an annual arts festival.

It wasn’t exactly easy making a living as an artist/gallery owner in an isolated village like Ferndale. According to McBride, there were times when Hobart made his mortgage payment with the whimsical wire sculptures he crafted in his studio. “And that was fine with my mom,” said McBride. But over time Viola’s plan worked. More artists moved in and Ferndale was transformed into an art tourism destination. “Eventually the value of the building went up enough that he was able to refinance through the bank across the street and pay my mom off,” McBride said.

The change to the town didn’t come without resistance. As Stan Bennett, another long time Ferndale metal artist, recalled, “The first time I came to Ferndale there was a sign over the bar at The Palace that said, ‚ÄòHippie scalps: $2.’ There were those who wanted to run off the alternative people and burn down the houses they lived in. They wanted [Ferndale] to stay a cow town, but it was too late. The artists and tourists took over. Hobart helped change things just by being there and doing his thing, refusing to bend to the cowboys and such.”

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