Mobile

Mobile, a type of sculpture with suspended elements, or which is itself suspended, so that those elements move when propelled by air currents, by touch, or by a small motor. The most striking feature of the mobile is that, unlike traditional sculpture, it achieves its artistic effect through movement; it is the most familiar form of kinetic art, to which movement is an essential element. A typical mobile consists of a group of shapes, frequently abstract, that are connected by wires, string, metal rods, or the like. Although mobiles are usually suspended, some are designed to stand on a platform or floor. The first experimental mobiles were the work of the French artist Marcel Duchamp in the 1920s. The form, however, was developed to its finest expression by the American sculptor Alexander Calder, beginning in the 1930s. The English sculptor Lynn Chadwick continued the tradition established by Calder; his “balanced sculptures” are metal structures incorporating mobiles. See also Modern Art and Architecture.