Los Porfiados (The Stubborns), an installation by Chilean studio gt2P, is on view at the High Museum through November 29. Fourteen inflatable sculptures, some up to 17 feet tall, are inspired by the weighted roly-poly toy that returns upright when pushed. The museum explicitly invites visitors to interact with the pliable forms.
This is an appealing design lesson in a physical object that communicates through motion. A shape that looks static becomes expressive when people touch it, and the group's movement changes how the plaza feels. For a CAD hobbyist, the natural question is how the center of mass, skin tension and internal pressure cooperate to make a form recover after displacement.
It is also a photo opportunity: soft shapes against the museum's hard architecture can create striking compositions. Check admission arrangements on the exhibition page and try the installation in daylight when the shapes and shadows are easier to study.