Contact

Conclusion

Over the past 2 years, steel sculpture has been a new and exciting experience for me that has opened the doors to bring my creativity to a new level. Never before have I been able to make things that I could confidently say would last well past my existence. After experimenting with several small scale projects, I felt I was ready to tackle a large scale project that would reflect my view of art as something that you should be able to both visually and physically enjoy, like that of a children’s toy; which is something I especially wanted to stress. As a child, my toys—mostly consisting of tanks, helicopters, and Legos having grown up in a military family-- were always my escape from whatever was going on in life. It was a chance for me to get away from whatever was going on and let loose, use my imagination, and have a good time. I wanted to convey this message to the public by creating something that could symbolize all of these aspects.

Introduction

Procedures

Results

I would like to thank many of the people within the UNC-Pembroke Art Department for their assistance and input that was given, which aided me greatly. Also, a special thanks to Adam Walls, who has given me advice in almost every facet you can may not even be able to think of, when it comes to constructing a sculpture of this size. I would also like to express gratitude towards the donors, funders, and members of the PURC Council for all of the generous work they have done so that all of these students could conduct their research. It means the world to college students like us, who are moving towards a bright future.

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Planning for this project began last semester. I constructed a scale model with a 1:8 size ratio using steel and plastic parts. The purpose of this was to get an idea of what to expect both visually and physically in construction of the piece. The construction process on the large scale piece started with grinding rust off of pre fabricated steel rings and connecting them with square pipe by weld. Then I attached steel skis for stability purposes with very strong welds that will withstand the weight of anyone climbing or swinging on the piece. Next came the swing. The swing itself was made from recycled desk chairs, with a sturdily welded frame underneath. The swing was anchored down in two spots for balance. The propellers were constructed from a steel ring and plate and welded to the frame of the helicopter. Then, I constructed the “tail” of the helicopter with steel pipe and ring. Steel balls, and other parts were then added for aesthetic and interactive purposes in order to accomplish the “toy feel”.

The Symbolism and Significance of the Heli-SwingChristian Happel

Advisor: Professor Adam WallsDepartment of Art, UNC-Pembroke

Materials

My materials consisted of various steel pieces containing both raw material, such as steel plate and bars, and pre fabricated parts, such as steel rings and bearings. Other materials used to construct the sculpture were grinding and cutting disks, a MIG Welder, and other general power tools such as drills, and socket wrenches.

Acknowledgements

You can contact me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, phone or email me though the information below.Phone: (910) 303-8817Email: tchapp3l@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christian.happel.16

The results produced a large, playful, and interactive fabricated steel sculpture that will catch attention and entertain the likes of any passer byers, through my use of interactive parts and a the construction of a relatable and recognizable symbolic figure.

This image shows one of the anchor points of the swing being welded to the frame of the sculpture

This image demonstrates the use of a hand-held grinding disk, which is used to flatten or shape parts of steel.

The “propellers” of the sculpture are being welded together by use of a MIG welder

As a child, everyone had that “it” toy. It could be that it was your favorite, you wanted to take it anywhere, or it was just something that was there for you whenever you needed to just get away be creative. Everyone had a toy like this, that for what ever reason was better than all of the other toys. Now, I'm not saying mine was a helicopter by any means– that was more of an allusion to my family’s military background. But, if you look past the fact that it is a representation of a toy helicopter, you find that it symbolizes much more and that there is a more broad conclusion. It symbolizes the toy that everyone had growing up, whether helicopter, doll, or action figure– it doesn’t matter. You can still relate to it in a way. It is something that you want to go up to and touch and interact with because it captures your attention and imagination, which by all means is serving its due purpose in my book.

You can see some similarities, or inspiration in my work from this Robinson R-22 model helicopter