Hanging Lantern

For the Soda Can project, I created a hanging lantern from whole soda cans with a "flame" inside of whole and cut (curled) cans. I was also interested in the musical properties of the cans, so the "flame" is constructed like a set of hanging chimes. Wind blowing through the lantern creates noise.

When I got my project to my dorm to hang it, I discovered it had broken in transit. I had to fix two broken sides where the wire had snapped. Here is what is looked like when broken:


After wiring the parts back together, I tried hanging the piece, but discovered that it no longer hung the way I had originally planned! The sides were slumped and couldn't be made into right angles.


I managed to get it to hang correctly by adding additional wires to the top. Last of all I added the final interior piece. Although it isn't exactly what I had envisioned, the overall effect is close. The scale seems right for its location and the colors work well.


My artwork hangs between two residential buildings in Edens Quad on West Campus, and is visible from all the approaching paths to the dorm. While I had originally planned for it to hang parallel to the walkway, I discovered that I could not get it to hang straight that way and had to turn it 45 degrees. This turned out to have a better effect after all because it now faces the viewer as he/she approaches from all but one of the paths.


Comments I received while hanging the piece and from friends who viewed it:
"There are easier ways to recycle..."
"Is housekeeping going to take that down?"
"What the hell is that?"
"It's awesome! Can I eat it?"
"That's my soda can, on the top!"


One of my friends decided to climb inside to look around. The rest just walked around it to observe it from different angles. I hope other viewers will notice the use of different colored cans, the "flame" inside the lantern, hear the sounds of the chimes, and take the time to walk around and view it from different directions.