The exhibit that I chose to observe was “Ball Machine” by Henry Loustau. It is in the Garage room and is centrally located in that space. Inflatable balls travel on tracks, created by two pieces of wire, that zig-zag in the upper part of the room. In order to load a ball onto the track, a participant must place it into a carriage and then pull down on a rope connected to a pulley, which lifts the ball into the air. When it reaches the point to be unloaded from the carriage, it rolls out and begins making its way through the maze.

The visitors that interacted with this piece ranged from young children to adults. I noticed that when the young participants wanted to use the piece, they were usually assisted by an adult. This is because the piece is slightly difficult to operate. A metal cage surrounds the carriage that brings the balls up, which made getting the ball in the carriage a challenge. Many kids depended on their parents to place the ball in the carriage for them. Once the ball was in place, many of the kids used the step-stool that was provided in order to reach the rope that they had to pull down on to lift the ball. No one seemed to have difficulty pulling down on the rope. However, once the ball was lifted to the point where it was supposed to exit the carriage, some kids weren’t able to pull down with enough force to knock the ball out of the carriage. Thus, adults came to the rescue. Regardless of who was using the machine, it was common for the ball to fall off of the track. Most of the adults that I observed would walk away once this happened. However, most kids would want to give it another try. After two or three unsuccessful goes, the kids usually lost interest and left. From my observation, the kids seemed to be more interested in the physical task of pulling down on the rope to elevate the ball. On the other hand, adults were more drawn to the path the ball took as it traveled on its track.

This piece relates to the work around it because it is a kinetic sculpture, and all of the works in that room are kinetic. The Garage is a hands-on space and the children seemed to have a great deal of fun interacting with the pieces. All the works were very playful and kid-friendly. A number of museum employees stood by in the room to assist with the machines if something wasn’t functioning properly. This would be a great space to exhibit a kinetic, interactive piece from our class.