{"id":4397,"date":"2020-08-03T18:09:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T18:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/?p=4397"},"modified":"2020-08-21T14:28:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T14:28:32","slug":"sculptors-lifelike-i-beam-mobiles-float-near-weightlessly-with-sintra-graphic-display-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/sculptors-lifelike-i-beam-mobiles-float-near-weightlessly-with-sintra-graphic-display-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Sculptor\u2019s Lifelike I-Beam Mobiles Float Near Weightlessly with SINTRA\u00ae Graphic Display Board"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sculpted to resemble the massive and heavy structural steel girders used to construct skyscrapers, the I-beam  mobiles of J F Jones<\/a> instead are designed to float near weightlessly above the viewer and to produce a smile with 3-D characters casually perched atop the beams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reminiscent of old Warner Bros.\u2019 sleep-walking cartoon characters, one of Jones\u2019 modern-day characters is distracted by his cell phone and appears to be perilously close to walking off an I-beam. Other characters \u2013 inspired by the famous 1932 \u201cLunch Atop a Skyscraper\u201d photograph credited to Charles C. Ebbets \u2013 enjoy a lunch break seated on a beam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Key to the heavyweight lifelike look but actual light weight of Jones\u2019s I-beam kinetic art pieces is his choice of SINTRA\u00ae <\/strong>graphic display board by 3A Composites USA<\/a> to create the beams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Experienced in set and prop building for theatrical, television and film productions as well as furniture-making, Jones, who is based in Greensboro, N.C., had used SINTRA for many years to create signage when he worked for the City of Greensboro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to find a material that would create the illusion of an I-beam but would be lightweight,\u201d said Jones. \u201cI had encountered SINTRA for display work. It was flat, clean and perfect for applying vinyl graphics; and, it could be drilled easily. It was very consistent in color and density.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

 (As the original high-performance moderately expanded PVC board, SINTRA is specialty-engineered to be a premium solution for graphic display projects that require the highest-quality material. SINTRA is unsurpassed for its printability, quality, consistency, durability and performance, offering superior surface characteristics and physical properties when compared to competitive products. SINTRA is available with premium bright-white surfaces that produce excellent digital- and screen-printing results. In addition to the brightest white, SINTRA also is available in a broad range of colors in gauges ranging from 1mm to 12.7mm and in standard sheet sizes ranging from 48-by-96 inches up to 2 meters by 120 inches.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jones has been following his inspiration to create mobiles since he first spied the monumental untitled mobile designed by artist Alexander Calder for The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., during a family trip in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was Calder\u2019s ability to use simple material to create work that was so simple in structure but so complex in its language and visual effect,\u201d said Jones. \u201cThe massive mobile hung in the rotunda of The National Gallery of Art measures roughly 910 cm by 2,315 cm and weighs 920 pounds. And, yet it seems to be floating. It had a profound effect on me. I’ve always had an equal mixture of mechanical aptitude and artistic sensibilities. So when I saw Calder’s work for the first time at The National Gallery of Art, I understood it. I made a connection instantaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jones began creating his self-described \u201cCalder-inspired\u201d mobiles from SINTRA in 2007 for residential display as a part-time pursuit as well as started teaching mobile-making classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Creating mobiles grew into a full-time business for both Jones and his wife, Naomi, with the addition of Modern Mobiles\u2013 mobile-making kits that allow anyone to build their own repositionable mobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I taught classes on mobile-making, students would ask if I could make something that they could put together,\u201d said Jones. \u201cSo I developed a slider and made pieces to attach from SINTRA. It was a very available material and possessed all of the properties that we needed. \u2026 People were inquisitive about mobiles and wanted to build their own. The aesthetic we provide with the kits bumps it up a notch or two. We just needed to find the right material. That was SINTRA.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jones purchases SINTRA graphic display board from the Greensboro location of distributor Piedmont Plastics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The mobile kit includes a series of modern geometric-shaped pieces made from 3mm SINTRA in primary colors. Customers build their own mobiles with these shapes by attaching them to aluminum wires and positioning them with plastic sliders (both included in the kits.) The shapes easily can be repositioned to create a variety of designs. In addition to being available for sale on Etsy.com<\/a>, the Mobile Kit by Modern Mobiles is available for sale at several museums, including: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Museum of Modern in New York, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n