by Susan Kadel, ’27
Sculpture, 2025

Major: Fine Arts

This piece is a recognition of the stresses which young adults face today. The dog as companion and therapist moves up and down to urge the human to move forward off the ledge and take on their future. The moving planks represent the various challenges which confront the human. When activated by the paddles, they are constantly shifting in difficulty to navigate as the human moves from here to the indeterminant there. While reading the letters on the paddles, the viewer can use the handle to slow the churning of the uncertainties or cause the motion to be imperceptible for some of the planks some of the time. The paddles represent the impact of personal education to meet the stresses of adulthood. The balloon represents the other element which can help a human to cope – social support. This can be informal through family, friends and society, or it can be formalized in institutions and government programs. With either or both ways, the human can have a lift when stumbling over an uncertainty.

The main body of the kinetic sculpture is constructed primarily from painted wood, wood glue, varnish, brads and one lead fishing weight. It measures 7.5 inches tall, 21 inches long and 11.375 inches wide. The two figurines are painted and varnished Clay-Crete. The human figure has an internal structure of aluminum wire, foam core and hot glue. The balloon is comprised of eggshell, wire, white glue, tissue paper and ink.

The movement of the sculpture is controlled by the turning knob on the right side. When this knob is turned toward the viewer, the rotating shaft moves paddles which cause the upper planks to move up and down. The rotating shaft also moves a small cam on the extreme left which moves a lever attached to the figure of the dog and causes the dog to move up and down.