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A work of art
Designed and built by Skyline Attractions, the sculptural roller coaster at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art unites form and function. Park World reports.
the ride’s vibrant colour, unique train design and other creative details. To a casual listener, it can sound like they are discussing pieces of art. In early November, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS
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MoCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts, opened its newest display, Brake Run Helix. Created by visual artist EJ Hill, the sprawling exhibition highlights his passion for the shape, form, and movement of roller coasters. Filling MASS MoCA’s 100-yard-long Building 5 gallery, it is Hill’s largest installation to date and includes Brava!, a pretty in pink full-circuit roller coaster, making it the first time ever that a working roller coaster has become part of a museum’s art exhibit. To bring the art concept to coaster life, MASS MoCA contacted Skyline
Attractions to design, engineer and build the coaster that the artist envisioned, and that the museum could successfully operate. Alexandra Foradas, MASS MoCA’s curator for the exhibition, shared: “Chris
Gray and his team at Skyline Attractions have been excellent collaborators for EJ, making this dream a reality. Like EJ, Skyline has a deep delight in, and knowledge of, the history of roller coasters and the communities of people that love them.” Looking to its own line of coasters, Skyline knew its track, chassis and
wheel system would work perfectly for MASS MoCA. Skyline’s design gives traditional roller coasters a new, sleek, and modern twist. It also complemented the artist’s vision of featuring a working backyard-style roller coaster in the exhibit. Supported by a series of wooden A-frame supports, Skyline’s weld-free track sits atop a figure-eight shape, perfect for the museum’s space. 260 feet of track (79.2 metres) complete the coaster with its single rider car. A guest boards the car from the museum’s mezzanine level and then coasts along the single rail track down to the second floor. “The museum wanted the coaster to accommodate one guest at a time,”
shared Chris Gray, partner at Skyline Attractions. “To make this happen we created a unique, exclusive car that is very similar to our P’Sghetti Bowl coaster ride car, but also met their exhibition space needs and the artist’s vision.”
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
hen roller coaster fans talk about their favourite attraction, descriptions often include details about speed, favourite seat, and the amount of airtime they experience, along with language about
To activate the installation, one lucky museum guest has the opportunity to
ride the attraction each hour. The ride begins with the assistance of a museum attendant. Gray continued: “From there, it is a true coaster experience. It has an incredibly
smooth track and runs on gravity. This is a fun project that resembles a simple, backyard roller coaster but is the result of modern roller coaster technology.” Brava!’s track includes a helix and rapid S-bend. Skyline’s innovative, weld-
free design nicely matched the artist’s design of a ‘noodle-like’ single rail track. Adding in the chassis and clever, modular design of P’Sphetti Bowl ride vehicle, the team was able to perfectly install a smooth, comfortable roller coaster in the museum. “Skyline’s innovative weld-free track design gave us a beautifully sculptural
pink ribbon that weaves through the gallery. It is compelling even when it isn’t in motion,” artist EJ Hill exclaims, “And as a rider, Brava! packs a lot of punch: my heart is in my throat every time I hit the first drop!” Those words are music to the Skyline team’s ears. “This project was meant
for Skyline,” Gray said. “It allowed us the opportunity to fully partner with EJ and MASS MoCA on a first-of-its-kind art exhibit. It also gave us this special showcase of our work.” “One of the selling features of our P’Sghetti Bowl line of steel roller
coasters is that we can adapt the track layout to meet any customer’s space needs,” he continued. “The museum offered us the opportunity to create an exclusive version and layout developed for their space. As ride manufacturers, we are inspired every day by the artistry and beauty of coasters, and now we can say a Skyline coaster is a work of art.” Skyline’s children’s coasters are designed, engineered, and fabricated in the
United States, and were developed for amusement parks as well as indoor FECs. Most recently, the company has developed a new LED light system that can be built onto the track itself, creating a slick, fully customisable ride experience. In the meantime, Brava! is serving as a gateway for art enthusiasts to see the
beauty of roller coasters. Coaster enthusiasts, too, are embracing the art world. Recently added to the online Roller Coaster Database (RCDB), Brava! means that a museum’s coolest new exhibit is also the next possible coaster credit.
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