James Bauer (born 1954), BoBo bu Ko Robotic Assemblage, 1994, recycled materials consisting of metal and plastic, 27 3/16 x 12 5/8 x 28 3/4 in. (69 x 32 x 73 cm), IFAF Collection, FA.1995.71.1V.

Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe, NM).

Youth Category Winner

"BoBo bu Ko" by Abram Baldillez 

Robot got a pot and thought 

I should smack someone on the head

 

So he did and went to jail

And broke out with no bail

 

Got no brain in my head

But plastic instead 

 

He found a place to sit and had to admit

that was a bad idea

 

He sat in a chair and had to declare

It's been a troublesome year

 

Have no soul

And out of control

 

BoBo bu Ko's my name

And I'm pretty lame

 

Adult Category Winner

"Grandpa" by Erica Photiades

It won't work

My sister said

Watching me haul equipment from workshop

To his favorite spot in the backyard

Where his orange lawn chair rested 

Under the piñon tree

 

If we build it, he will come, I insisted

Repeating his favorite saying

You're supposed to be cleaning, she snapped

A bunch of junk won't bring him back

 

I hated to cry in front of her

She always knew everything

And never let me forget it

 

I braced myself for her derision

Sharp and cutting like the scrap metal

Scattered around the lawn chair

Projects he'd meant to finish and didn't 

Were trash to her

 

But, she didn't laugh

I'll be right back, she whispered

Her voice suddenly warm

Like the sun peaking above the sandy hills behind us

She disappeared into the house

The screen door banging

Grandma would have yelled at the noise

But it was just us now

 

I looked down at inanimate parts shining in the dirt

A mixing bowl face, measurement lines for wrinkles

Tarnished silver spoons for his gnarled fingers

A giant aluminum pot belly, vibrating with laughter

Mom's roller skates, gathering dust in a crate 

Would help his joints move again

 

My sister returned with his old welding goggles, a walkman

She handed me his favorite beer, cold from the fridge

If you really want it to be him

You'll need these too