Art in Engineering - Moving Art
The U.S. Postal Service issued stamps commemorating the art of Alexander Calder (1898-1976), a modern artist and engineer who used forces in his artwork. He bent and twisted wire and steel to make 3D sculptures and created mobiles that move and balance.Copyright U.S. Postal Service, http://www.usps.com/images/stamps/98/calder.htm, 1998.
Students learn how forces are used in the creation of art. They come to understand that it is not just bridge and airplane designers who are concerned about how forces interact with objects, but artists as well. As "paper engineers," students use the associated activities to create their own mobiles and pop-up books, and identify and use the forces (air currents, gravity, hand movement) acting upon them.
One of the jobs of an engineer is to learn how to use forces in ways that benefit society. Examples of situations in which forces are important in engineering are designing bridges that can withstand the force of high winds and countless semi-trailer trucks, designing roofs that do not collapse under the load of heavy snow, making music players that work flawlessly while a person is running, or creating airplane wings that harness wind forces to enable flight.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Identify several different types of forces used by both artists and engineers.
- Describe how physical forces are used in the creation of art.
- Use elements of art, principles of design and styles of art to communicate their understanding of forces.
- Experiment with materials, tools, techniques and processes that enhance communication of ideas through art.