Sculpture does not have to stand still.

In this project, you will explore kinetic art, a form of art that incorporates real or apparent movement. You will design and construct a hanging mobile made from lightweight shapes suspended from wire.

Your challenge is to create a sculpture that is visually interesting and physically balanced.

As you work, you will experiment with weight, position, gravity, movement, color, shape, positive and negative space, and balance.

What Is Kinetic Art?

Kinetic art is art that depends on movement for part of its effect.

Movement may be produced by:

• air currents
• gravity
• motors or mechanical systems
• interaction with the viewer
• carefully balanced suspended elements

Unlike a traditional sculpture that remains in one position, a kinetic sculpture can continually change. As the parts move, the relationships between shapes, colors, shadows, and spaces change as well.

A mobile is a type of kinetic sculpture made from suspended elements that are carefully balanced so they can move freely.

Artist Inspiration: Alexander Calder

American artist Alexander Calder became famous for transforming sculpture into something that could move.

Instead of creating heavy sculptures sitting firmly on a pedestal, Calder used wire, metal shapes, color, and carefully positioned weights to create sculptures that responded to the surrounding air.

His suspended sculptures became known as mobiles.

Calder’s work demonstrates that sculpture can involve not only form and space, but also time and movement.

Principle of Design: Balance

Balance is the distribution of visual weight within a composition.

In this project, balance has TWO meanings.

Visual Balance

Consider how the shapes, colors, sizes, and empty spaces work together.

Physical Balance

Your sculpture must also actually balance.

A large shape may need to hang closer to the suspension point, while a smaller shape may need to be farther away.

Think of each wire section as a tiny seesaw.

Weight + distance = balance.

You will probably need to slide, shorten, lengthen, trim, or reposition pieces several times before your mobile balances correctly.

That experimentation is part of the project.

Your Assignment

Design and construct an original hanging mobile using paper/cardstock, wire, and thread or fishing line.

Your mobile should include:

• Multiple suspended levels
• At least 8–12 individual shapes/forms
• A deliberate color scheme
• Variation in shape and size
• Interesting positive and negative spaces
• Strong visual balance
• Successful physical balance
• Moving elements
• A finished composition that looks interesting from several viewpoints

Your mobile should move freely without collapsing, tangling excessively, or leaning heavily to one side.

Step 1: Explore

Do a research. See what other artists have created.

What makes their mobiles interesting?

How did they handle shapes, forms, and colors?

Step 2: Plan Your Design

Create several thumbnail sketches for possible mobile designs.

Consider:

Shape: Geometric? Organic? Abstract? A combination?

Color: Complementary? Analogous? Monochromatic? High contrast?

Repetition: Will certain shapes or colors repeat throughout the sculpture?

Variety: How will you prevent the design from becoming predictable?

Movement: How will the shapes interact as the mobile rotates?

Do not design only the front. Your sculpture will be viewed in the round.

Step 3: Create the Elements

Cut your shapes from cardstock and colored paper.

Experiment with:

• overlapping shapes
• cutouts
• holes
• folded paper
• double-sided color
• layered paper
• consider different textures

Remember that empty space is part of the composition.

A hole cut into a shape creates negative space, and the spaces between suspended elements become part of the sculpture.

Step 4: Build the Mobile

Begin with the lowest section of your mobile.

Attach shapes to a piece of wire using thread or fishing line.

Find the point where that section balances.

Once it is balanced, suspend that entire section from another wire.

Continue building from the bottom upward.

Each completed section becomes a new weight that must be balanced against another element.

Step 5: Test the Movement

Hang your mobile where it can move freely.

Gently introduce air movement and observe it.

Look at it from several directions.

Ask yourself:

• Does it move smoothly?
• Do pieces collide?
• Do strings become tangled?
• Are some areas visually empty?
• Does one side dominate?
• Are the colors distributed intentionally?

Make adjustments until the sculpture feels balanced both physically and visually.

Reflection

After completing your sculpture, answer:

• How did you use balance as a Principle of Design?
• What was the most difficult part of physically balancing your mobile?
• How did color contribute to the overall composition?
• How does your sculpture change when it moves?
• How did you use positive and negative space?
• What adjustment made the biggest improvement to your final sculpture?

Assessment

Your project will be evaluated on:

Design & Composition

Shapes, colors, positive/negative space, repetition, variety, and overall visual organization.

Balance

Successful use of both visual and physical balance.

Movement

The sculpture moves freely and movement contributes to the design.

Craftsmanship

Wire connections, suspended elements, cuts, attachments, and finishing are neat and secure.

Experimentation & Problem Solving

Evidence of testing, adjusting, and refining the structure.

Creativity

The final mobile demonstrates original choices rather than simply copying an existing Calder sculpture.