The Evolution and De-evolution of a mobile

Mobiles are one of the most dynamic and interesting forms of sculpture because they are always in motion. Because of this, the arrangement of pieces is ever-changing and the appearance of any particular mobile can change dramatically from moment to moment.

Sometimes, even the design of a particular piece can seem to have a life of its own, evolving over a period of days or even years, especially when the mobile has been commissioned by a client. Here's a good example.

Several years ago a client contacted me. He wanted a very large hanging mobile for his beautiful modern home that was under construction in eastern Pennsylvania. He was a big Alexander Calder fan, and wanted a replica of the mobile that hangings in the National Gallery in Washington. He wanted it to be about 12 feet wide.

A BIG one!

I explained that I didn't make copies of Calder's work, but that I was interested in the project and felt that I could come up with a design that he would like. I quoted some prices and he told me that he would contact me at the proper time when the room was nearing completion.

I didn't hear back from him for nearly a year, and had somewhat dismissed the project as unlikely to move forward, but one day he called me and said that he was ready to start reviewing designs.

I presented this idea among several, which was similar to the Calder mobile that he liked in that it has two sections; one with vertical pieces and one with horizontal pieces. There is a view on the sketch that shows the horizontal pieces as seen from above. As you can see, the elements are pretty similar to Calder's typical triangle and boomerang shapes. I really liked this design and was hoping he would pick it.

But he chose this design instead. He didn't want any horizontal pieces.

His next request was to make the elements "more like Calder shapes", so I sent back this idea.

He really liked that design, (I didn't care for it so much).

The next step was to figure out a color arrangement. He liked this one:

The size was critical. He sent architectural drawings to me and wanted the mobile to fill the room as much as possible. I felt that 11 feet wide would be a good target to aim for. If the mobile turned out to be larger than 12 feet, it would run into a wall. On a new design, it can be tricky to estimate sizes. A lot of it depends on where the hanging points are located, and how all the spaces and shapes relate to each other.

He sent a down payment, and I started working on the mobile.

I was really pleased when I finished and measured the mobile. I found that it had an 11 ft swing diameter - exactly like I wanted. Here's a photo that I sent comparing the unpainted mobile to the sketch.

The next step was to paint the mobile, pack it up, and (in this case), drive about 8 hours to deliver the mobile to his home. I really enjoyed seeing his home, it was built on top of a mountain and had many unique design features - he also had a lot of Calder lithographs.

Here's a photo that I took after I installed the mobile.

It looked wonderful. Everyone was happy.

Project closed? Not quite.

A few months ago, I was flipping thru my sketch books and noticed the sketch of first design - the one that I had hoped that he would pick. I still wanted to make that mobile!

Since I had some free time, I decided I would do it. It would be much smaller of course - something that you could hang up in a room with standard ceilings. And I wanted to change the colors to the palette that I've been using lately - verdigris, khaki, red, black, and maybe a blue piece.

Here's how it came out - I really liked it!

I decided to name it "Satori"

I posted it up in the gallery on The Mobile Factory and quickly found a buyer.

Project closed? Not yet!!!

About a month later, a client emailed me - she really liked "Satori" but wondered if I could make it in primary colors, like a Calder mobile. Red, Black, Yellow, Blue.

Sure, I can do that!

So here is the most recent version, which I suspect is a miniature of what the large 11 foot mobile would have looked like if he had chosed my first design.

So...after all of that, I guess this one has come full circle.

Unless there is yet more to come!