Suspended Sculpture: Creating Mobile Art
6–8 Lesson Plan
Early in Gibson’s career, he wrestled with concepts of identity and what it means to be Native American and pursuing a career in art. Later, on the advice of his therapist, he began to box with a punching bag to release overwhelming feelings. To Gibson, the punching bag represented power and power dynamics, and boxing helped him to work through his emotions.
Gibson began to see the punching bag as a blank canvas that could be adorned and decorated like clothing. He added tin jingle cones, large beads, and fringe, as well as text from poetry, popular culture, and historical documents to transform the punching bag into a representation of identity and emotion.
When describing his punching bag artworks, Gibson says,
“The bags themselves are really about struggles and power which bring a lot of people to boxing initially. It’s also very therapeutic to name your anger and to try to place and then also attack it or resolve it somehow. And that’s what brought me to working with punching bags initially. . . . [The bags] go from an object made for use to being an object for appreciation.”
Curator Abigail Winograd notes, “[Gibson] transforms a symbol of physical aggression into a pathway to empowerment and defiance against the restrictions of the larger world.”
Objective: In this activity, students will create hanging mobiles inspired by Jeffrey Gibson’s adorned punching bags. Students will choose materials and text that are meaningful to them and create their own suspended artworks to reflect their identities and what is important to them.
Guiding Question: How can we use an object such as a punching bag as a blank canvas to create a mobile or suspended sculpture to express ourselves and our emotions in an artistic way?
- Creating: VA:Cr2.1
- Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches.
- VA:Cr.2.1.6.a: Demonstrate openness in trying new ideas, materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art or design.
- VA:Cr.2.1.7.a: Demonstrate persistence in developing skills with various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art. Students will also perceive and describe beauty of their natural world and constructed environments.
- VA:Cr.2.1.8.a: Demonstrate willingness to experiment, innovate, and take risks to pursue ideas, forms, and meanings that emerge in the process of art making or design.
- Found objects or art materials such as cardboard, thick paper, wood panels, etc., to be used as blank canvases
- General art supplies such as oil pastels, watercolor, markers, and paint
- Watercolor paper
- Scissors
- Hole punchers
- Yarn
- Beads, fringe, charms, ribbon, fabric, and any other materials that might be used for adornment
- Hot glue, tape, and/or staplers
Teacher Instructions
Step 1: Preparing to Create
- Introduce the work of Jeffrey Gibson to the class by sharing his Artist Video Interview and Artist Statement.
- Project examples of Gibson’s punching bags, such as LOVE IS THE DRUG, 2017 and WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, 2024.
- Next, share an example of one of Gibson’s other suspended artworks, such as LOOK HOW FAR WE’VE COME!, 2016.
- Hand out paper and pencils and ask students to reflect on the text, colors, and materials used to adorn the bags and the cloak. What do they see? What does it remind them of? How do the words, patterns, and colors make them feel? How might the viewer interact with a suspended artwork differently than with a flat, two-dimensional piece hanging on a wall?
- Next, ask them to write down or draw a few words, objects, and pictures that are important to them. Encourage them to think of challenges they face, concepts that emotionally move them, and the changes they want to see in the world.
- Tell students that they will now have the opportunity to create their own suspended artworks. They will choose materials and text that are meaningful to them and create their own mobiles.
Teacher Tip
- Consider asking students to bring in their own meaningful objects to use as the blank canvases for their suspended artworks. They can also bring in any materials they would like to adorn their suspended canvas.
- As a teacher himself, Gibson does not want students to feel boxed in by requiring them to use a punching bag as a canvas if they prefer another, more personally meaningful canvas for their mobiles. If students are drawn to the concept of the punching bag as a canvas, they can still design, create, and adorn their own punching bags. Consider using sturdy paper wrapped in a tube shape as the base of the punching bag.
- Ask students to use paper and pencil to draft a design for their mobiles. They should consider the following:
- Meaningful or powerful text
- Materials they might want to use (from nature or man-made) that are meaningful to them
- Patterns, colors, shapes, and symbols that represent their identity and/or concepts that are important to them
- When they are finished with their initial draft, ask them to do a think-pair-share activity with their neighbor and make any modifications to their designs.
Step 2: Creating
Provide students with a selection of found objects (natural and man-made) and art materials to create their mobiles if they did not bring in their own. Students should also think about how they would like to hang their mobiles. Consider string, coat hangers, branches, hooks, wire, and other unique methods of hanging art from the ceiling.
Teacher Tip
Take this opportunity to remind students about use of lines and color in an art piece. Lines and color can express feelings while also creating patterns. Remind students to think about what they hope to convey with their use of line, color, pattern, text, and material selection.
Step 3: Share and Reflect
Suspend mobiles from the ceiling and ask each student to share their mobiles with the class. Ask them to reflect on the following in writing or orally:
- What message do you hope your chosen text communicates?
- What was your experience like creating a hanging piece of art?
- In what ways did the use of specific materials, colors, and patterns enhance your message?
- What do you hope your audience sees in your artwork? When your audience walks away from your artwork, what message do you hope they take with them and what do you hope they understand about you?