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BY JESSICA HAMILTON

In print | April 20, 2006

Last week, an original Alexander Calder mobile previously located in front of Pearson Hall was moved to the field in front of the Science Center.

The mobile’s new location makes it highly visible. “This is a major piece of art,” Provost Connie Hungerford said. “In front of Pearson, it was at the edge of campus and people didn’t go by it regularly.”

Many students were not aware of the mobile’s presence on campus until its recent move. “I never even knew it existed until now,” said Mike Bernasek ‘09. "But it provides a good distraction for me when I’m in class in Kohlberg."

The increased visibility of the sculpture will also serve to prevent future vandalism or disrepair. According to Brian Meunier, the Art Department chair and resident sculptor at the college, the process of moving the mobile began two years ago. “I was walking by and I saw a piece of it on the ground,” Meunier said. “From people always spinning it and from the everyday wear and tear, it fell apart.”

Meunier did research to get the mobile restored before deciding to consult Christopher Ray, a Swarthmore resident and local restorer. “He did truly excellent work,” Meunier said. “He even took the metal and paints of the mobile to a lab in Philly to analyze its composition before the restoration.”

After restoration, the mobile was placed back in its original location with the intention of moving it this year.

The central field near the Science Center provides a safer location for the mobile. With the large windows of Kohlberg and the Science Center overseeing it, Meunier said that they hope people will be discouraged from handling it.

The large mound surrounding the mobile plays an important role in its visibility, as well as security for the sculpture and student safety. The raised earthen mound provides the mobile with a more monumental place on campus, Meunier said. “It’s raised up in the sky,” Meunier said. “You can look up to it and see the moving elements.”

Stuart Hain, Vice President of Facilities, said the mobile was also raised to limit the chance of someone being struck by it as it rotates. Low shrubs will be planted in the near future to assist with this as well, according to Hain.

Several other sites had been considered for the new location of the mobile; however, wind was a determining factor. “We needed only a slight breeze so that the arms would move,” said Meunier. “In its old spot, you couldn’t see it move, which is why children would push it to make it rotate.”

The mobile’s new location was also chosen for its aesthetic sensibility. “The work relates both to the Science Center, picking up on Calder’s interest in modernity and technology, and to the arts in Beardsley,” Hungerford said.

Even with its central location on campus, however, most students are unaware of the mobile’s significance. Alexander Calder was a prominent sculptor and artist, most famous for his invention of the mobile in 1931. In 1959, Calder created the mobile entitled “Back from Rio,” presently on campus. Swarthmore acquired the piece in 1967, when family, friends and students donated it in memory of William H. Brown, Jr., an economist and professor at the college.

Students have had varying reactions to the mobile’s placement on the Science Center field. Kristin Caspar ‘09 said, "I heard it’s a famous piece of artwork, but even so, I really don’t like it there."

On the other hand, Elizabeth McDonald ‘05, a recent Swarthmore graduate, had a different view. "I think it’s nice that it’s more central," McDonald said. “I’m an education major, so I saw it all the time, but it’s good that more people can see it.”

“Where it is now, it becomes more of a part of the college,” Hungerford said.

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