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Unit of Study IV.
Rob Fisher - Sculpture with Air and Water
 Rob Fisher, A Page from the Book of Skies, suspended aluminum and stainless steel, 480" x 240" x 684", 1989, Madinat Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah Medical Center, Saudi Arabia. |
When asked the question, "Has the use of computers altered the definition of sculpture?" by Robert Michael Smith, Fisher answered, "Not any more than the invention of welding or casting. All these did was introduce yet other materials or processes to the artist. The idea of sculpture seems for the most part a continuum. With few exceptions the things that motivate and excite us today, the compulsion to be a sculptor is probably unchanged from the first crude cave sculptures of 20,000 years ago in Southern France."
Interview with the artist by Robert Michael Smith
"Virtual Armatures," Sculpture, July/August 1996.
Rob Fisher, born 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio is an internationally known sculptor. His sculptures, many of which were created by using a computer as a design and engineering tool, are installed around the world. Fisher is a Senior Research Artist in the School of Art and Fellow at the Studio for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon University. Rob Fisher's work has been on exhibition at Grounds For Sculpture and can be seen in the Water Garden there, beginning spring 2001.
Unit Overview
One of the exciting innovations and challenges of contemporary sculpture is the element of engineering that, in many instances, is required. Rob Fisher fascinates viewers with his use of air and water currents to activate his sculpture. The advent of computer-assisted design has allowed Mr. Fisher to compose and experiment with thousands of individual elements to solve spatial design problems and to test the structural integrity of large pieces of sculpture. During this unit of study, students observe the kinetic sculptures of Rob Fisher. Working with multiple, individual components, students work to capture light and air in installations of their own. The studio lesson requires students to join together individual elements to produce a cohesive sculpture that will respond to air currents.
- National Art Standards for Visual Arts Education referenced to this unit: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
- New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards referenced to this unit: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6
- New Jersey Cross-Content Workplace Readiness Standards referenced to this unit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Unit of Study IV.
Rob Fisher - Sculpture with Air and Water
Lesson 1
Objectives
Students will
- explore the work of Rob Fisher to become familiar with examples of kinetic art. (thinking skill: Comprehension)
- make distinctions between the terms mobile and kinetic art. (thinking skill: Analysis)
Materials
- sample mobile
- access to research materials, print and internet resources
- variable speed electric fan
- sample materials (Styrofoam, cardboard, metal tooling foil)
 Student artwork: an installed kinetic sculpture. |
Vocabulary
- Balance
- symmetrical balance
- asymmetrical balance
- mobile
- stabile
- kinetic
- CAD
Teacher Preparation
- Research biographical information especially the educational background of Rob Fisher.
- Gather samples of possible materials to demonstrate the properties of kinetic sculpture.
Procedure
- Draw students' attention to a hanging mobile. Ask the students which principle of composition does the mobile rely upon? (Balance)
- Remind students that balance refers to visual weight, and in kinetic art, especially mobiles, physical weight as well. Symmetrical balance, in its simplest form, is a mirror image on either side of a central axis; while asymmetrical balance implies equal visual weight on either side of a central axis but does not imply a mirror image.
- Ask students, "Where in the mobile might we see examples of either or both symmetrical and asymmetrical balance?"
- A mobile "is a delicately balanced arrangement of thin rods or stiff wires and objects suspended from them. The entire construction hangs from a thin filament and is moved by slight air currents. The mobile was named by its inventor, American sculptor Alexander Calder. The stabile, also invented and named by Calder, resembles the mobile but is rigid and stationary rather than flexible and suspended." (Mayer, ArtTerms and Techniques)
- Using a variable speed electric
fan, direct a gentle air current toward a hanging mobile. Ask students to
respond to the following prompts:
- Describe the reaction of the mobile to the air current. Do the support pieces move in response to the air?
- In what direction do the individual pieces move?
- Describe the construction of the mobile.
- Look at the mobile again. By nature of its definition and construction, what are the limitations to the structure as it is installed?
- Develop, with students, the notion of kinetic art. Introduce pictures of the work of Rob Fisher.
- Ask students to compare them to mobiles. How has Fisher moved beyond the traditional notion of the mobile?
- Identify Fisher as a kinetic sculptor. Kinetic art "is a general term for all artistic constructions that include moving elements, whether actuated by motor, hand crank, or by natural forces, as in mobiles." (Mayer, Art Terms and Techniques)
- Explain to students that Fisher uses computer technology to aid him in the development of his projects. CAD is an acronym for computer assisted design.
- Explain to students that they will have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of kinetic sculpture for themselves.
- Apply the air current to the materials other than the mobile by hanging other materials from line (i.e. styrofoam balls, foil cut outs, etc.) How do these materials react to the air current?
- Ask students to begin thinking about their possible inclusion into an original construction. What other materials might be included in the sculpture?
 Detail of a student's kinetic sculpture. |
Unit of Study IV.
Rob Fisher - Sculpture with Air and Water
Lesson 2
*The duration of this lesson could extend for several class periods.
Objectives
Students will
- create an original kinetic sculpture. (thinking skill: Application)
- install the sculpture either at home or in another identified location. (thinking skill: Application)
- evaluate their completed sculpture according to specific criteria. (thinking skill: Evaluation)
Materials
The following list is suggested based on materials selected by the students. Students were given no restrictions on the materials they could gather. These are the materials they selected:
- metal tooling foil
- glass shapes (i.e. circles, squares, diamonds)
- plastic
- wire and/or fishing line
- styrofoam
- wooden shapes and cutouts
- glue
- paper
- tools
- hammers
- awls
- drillshears
- variable speed electric fan
*PLEASE NOTE: A camera is required if the finished sculpture is installed at home or in any location other than the school.
Vocabulary
- No new vocabulary is introduced
 Rob Fisher, Skyharp: Osaka, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, 40' x 15' x 15', 1986, Osaka Hilton Hotel International, Osaka, Japan. |
Teacher Preparation
- Familiarize yourself with the use of CAD and computers in art, specifically sculpture.
- Collect sample images of the distinction between kinetic sculpture and the subcategories of mobile and stabile.
Procedure
- Share images of kinetic sculpture with students.
- Ask students to identify a theme for their own sculpture.
- Select a location to install students' sculpture.
- Ask students to respond to the
following questions.
- What materials will you select?
- How will you arrange the elements to create a unified composition?
- What armature or support structure will you construct?
- Are there any particular engineering challenges posed by the architecture of the site? Consider the constraints of the location you selected for the installation of your sculpture (i.e., eaves, slanted roof)?
- Will there be air currents to activate your sculpture?
- How will the construction be lighted?
- Students should create a series of thumbnail sketches and then select one idea for elaboration. Annotate the final drawing with the answers to the questions indicated above.
- Instruct students to
- exchange drawings with each other to allow for peer review. Questions or concerns should be discussed between students.
- Have students select materials and begin the construction.
- Students can construct the sculpture in class only up to a point. The final work must be completed where the work will be installed.
- Instruct students to take photographs of the installed work.
- Ask students to describe any unexpected complications that occurred during installation.
 Student artwork: kinetic sculpture. |
Unit of Study IV.
Rob Fisher - Sculpture with Air and Water
Kinetic Sculpture Assessment
For each statement, place a check by the most appropriate response. Explain any beyond or below expectations response that is given.
Name _________________________
1. The materials I selected and my use of space responded to create a unified composition:
_____ beyond expectations
_____ as expected
_____ below expectations
Explain:
2. The armature/support structure functioned:
_____ beyond expectations
_____ as expected
_____ below expectations
Explain:
3. Unanticipated engineering challenges surfaced:
_____ beyond expectations
_____ as expected
_____ below expectations
Explain:
4. The work responded to air currents where I placed it:
_____ beyond expectations
_____ as expected
_____ below expectations
Explain:
5. The lighting of the sculpture impacts the sculpture:
_____ beyond expectations
_____ as expected
_____ below expectations
Explain:
 Student artwork: kinetic sculpture. |
Unit of Study IV.
Rob Fisher - Sculpture with Air and Water
Extensions
- Students use Sculpture archives available on the ISC Web Site (www.sculpture.org) and other sources to investigate uses of computers in the creation of sculpture.
- Students investigate the educational background of contemporary sculptors to find the role engineering plays in the creation of their work.
- Students create a poem to respond to the aesthetics of their completed sculpture.
- Students explore the scientific theories necessary to explain kinetic sculpture.
- Students explore their feelings
about the use of computers in sculpture for planning,
enlarging, and constructing sculptures.
Reflection
Students did not anticipate the problem-solving skills they would have to employ to install the sculpture. Some students found that their original design needed to be abandoned in favor of an alternate approach. Because the process was new, students tended to rely on subject matter that was known to them.
Unit
of Study IV.
Rob Fisher - Sculpture with Air and Water
Lesson
1 | Lesson 2 | Extensions
Kinetic Sculpture Assessment
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