introduction
In 2018 a physicist colleague asked if I could propose a workshop for his group in which they could create artworks. Just before Christmas we spent an enjoyable and concentrated afternoon exploring the mobile as a medium for expressing ideas. We used various materials including bits and pieces from the lab.
Two years later, the American Institute of Physics introduced me to teacher and physicist Katherine Zaunbrecher and her students at Compass Community Collaborative School in Colorado. We did the workshop again, this time over Zoom and the group made mobiles from materials they found at home.
The workshop outline and some of the creations are here.
“A mobile is a piece of poetry that dances with the joy of life and surprises” - Alexander Calder.
Invitation
Alexander Calder Exhibition
Dear Workshop Participant,
Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976) is my favourite artist. His works are poetic, dynamic, playful, multi-layered and generous. I am excited to share him with you and explore how he might inspire us.
Calder trained as an engineer and had a great facility for mathematics. However, he dedicated his life to sculpture and is perhaps most famous for making mobiles. Many of his works speak of the hidden forces in our Universe. Einstein once stood before Calder’s work called A Universe proclaiming, “I wish I had thought of that”.
In this workshop we will explore Calder’s works and approach; sketch designs and build models of our own. We will investigate the potential of mobiles to express our ideas. These can be whatever seems meaningful and useful to you e.g., an aspect of Nature; a portrait of your friends or family and the forces between them; musings on a question; or the organisation of an idea…. We will draw and use every-day materials like coloured card, scissors, sticks, glue and whatever other materials you have to hand that seem resonant to your idea.
I hope that the workshop will help you discover some new ways of thinking and expressing ideas about your work or whatever may interest you.
Geraldine
example creations
From atomic physicists of Imperial College London’s ‘Centre for Cold Matter’ and students of Compass Community Collaborative School, Colorado.
