Mobile, << MOH beel, >> is a sculpture that achieves its expression through movement. Traditional sculpture achieves its expression through the arrangement of solid, stationary forms. Most mobiles are fragile constructions of rodlike projections that are loosely joined together. Objects of various sizes and shapes are delicately balanced to swing freely in a variety of moving arcs. Sculptors use many materials, textures, and colors for mobiles. A typical mobile includes colored disks, spheres, and wires, or shaped sheets of metal.
Most mobiles are suspended from above, so they can move freely. Some are pivoted on a base. Mobiles usually move as the result of natural air currents. A few are designed to move through mechanical power. Sculptors plan mobiles to present artistic interest not only in their actions, but also in the moving shadows they cast on the walls and the floor.
About 1932, American sculptor Alexander Calder became the first artist to create a true mobile, in which movement is the basic aesthetic purpose. French artist Marcel Duchamp first used the word mobile to describe the hand-powered and motor-driven sculptures Calder exhibited in Paris in 1932.
See also Calder, Alexander ; Sculpture (Form and treatment) .
