A World War II (1939–1945) veteran, George Rickey credited his time in the military for his innovative mobiles, or sculptures constructed of moving parts. He synthesized precision engineering, the industrial and simplified design of Russian Constructivism, and the study of physics into his carefully balanced mobiles. Regarding the air that animates his mobiles, Rickey observed, “In clouds, sea, falling leaves, waving grass, kits, sails, soaring birds, and flying fish, slamming doors and shutters, hurricanes, whirlwinds and sandstorms, sometimes silent, sometimes shuddering or roaring, sometimes passing through lips, reeds, or pipes as music, air moves on.”