Mobile

A type of kinetic sculpture (that which moves), invented and first used by the artist Alexander Calder. Trained as an engineer, Calder built many hanging mobiles with various attached forms, which moved and changed with air currents, etc. Many of them were very large, and hang in museum lobbies or auditoriums, from the ceiling. The forms which rotate and change their configurations are often of a biomorphic nature, similar to those used by Hans Arp and Juan Miro.<br><br>A construction made of objects that are balanced and arranged on wire arms and suspended so as to move freely.Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976) introduced this art form in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1932, a month before he first referred to his wire sculptures with moving parts using this term, it was Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887-1968) who suggested to Calder that he call his pieces "mobiles".Calder&#39;s entire oeuvre was certainly varied ? sculptures (including mobiles, stabiles, standing mobiles, and wire sculptures), and monumental outdoor works, as well as oil paintings, works on paper, toys, jewelry, and household objects.(pr. moh-BEEL)Examples: Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), Calder&#39;s Circus, 1926-31, mixed media: wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, 54 x 94 1/4 x 94 1/4 inches (137.2 x 239.4 x 239.4 cm) overall, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. Alexander Calder, The Orange Fish, 1946, painted metal mobile, 75 x 176 inches, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran. Alexander Calder, Brass in the Sky, 1947, brass, 96 x 120 inches (243.8 x 304.8 cm), Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL.