Art, mass produced, is not as desirable as those pieces which are hand crafted. Works done at Inflection Point Mobiles are one of a kind – each tuned to a unique conclusion.
A supply of mirrors has been stablished, with an ample number of 130mm plates on-hand. Metal materials are readily available – although they do fluctuate with the market (in particular stainless steel, which is used extensively). It is in the forming of the parts into a work of art where the investment lies. The bulk of the cost of mobile construction is labor.
Attempting to offset some of this labor, forces the artist out and the engineer in. Other volume focused notions involve more product-oriented decisions which too are particularly distasteful to an artist struggling toward a more creative craft. My mobiles are crafted for aesthetic enjoyment, kaleidoscopic wonderment and intrigue. They are not built for amazement over engineering.
For these reasons each mobile is done slowly and deliberately. A design is conceived, the layout is sketched, initial discussions are heard about the shapes or form and then the actual building begins. Optics are selected and laid out. Rings are fabricated for each specific piece of glass. Branch-arm tubes are chosen and cut to length. With the bending, initial form starts to appear. Wire gets wrapped and shaped to the tubes and then the assembly begins.
Going vertical is next and evaluation of the design ensues: Did it work? Was the concept a success? What needs adjusting?
Overall, it takes roughly 40 hours to complete even a simple two-tiered design. Larger works require more effort and labor. In the same manner a painter never charges a buyer ‘by the brush-stroke’ for a portrait, a mobile maker shouldn’t pass along all of his costs for fabricating or machining. But these costs can’t be ignored. I try to defray the overhead of upkeep and running machine tools and take minimum wage for my time. Wrestling over the price break points around these numbers is daunting. I would like as many as possible share in the enjoyment these pieces bring to a yard or home.
Pricing starts around $1250 for small 2-tiered designs. A simple standing mobile version of the same size would start at ~$3250. Other styles are by request – but are based once again, on the hourly content involved.
Please contact the artist for detailed discussions.