The Hanging Studio · Nº 20

A Calder Mobile Workshop

Field notes Alexander Calder invented the modern mobile in 1931, out of wire and simple metal shapes that turn freely in the air. Every rod in a mobile is a tiny seesaw, and the clever part is that you get to move its balance point — the spot where the string holds it. A heavy shape hung close to that point balances a light shape hung far away, because balance is about weight times distance, not weight alone. Real artists find each balance point the same way you will here: test, adjust, test again.

Tilt0.0°

Tiers1

Shapes0

Settled

Breeze

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Running in a lighter mode so the lesson keeps flowing.

This lab hit a snag

The lesson continues without it — scroll on, nothing is lost.