Goin' Mobile

Are you tired of all the bird pictures yet? Well, here's something I've been meaning to share since my trip to DC in September of last year, but I never got around to it. This is a large Calder mobile in the National Gallery of Art, the East Wing. I missed this on my first trip up in May, but I caught it on the second trip. Pretty impressive, and I don't know if you can tell from these poor photos, but it moves!

Evidently, it's so well balanced, the breeze from the AC and any stray air current from open doors and blowhard grad students make it spin.

I asked a docent if it ever gets stuck and he looked at me strangely. Surely something like this is supported by some large bearings, and those bearings must occasionally seize up. But he said no, it never stops. Oh, well.