Art isn't something that just hangs on the walls.

The East Lansing Public Art Gallery, located in the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road, is demonstrating this by displaying the free-hanging and free-standing art of mobiles and stabiles now through Oct. 5.

Pieces of the mobiles hang from above and move with the air, whereas stabile pieces sit on a stands or tables.

"It's art in motion," featured artist Lar Braun said. "They are individual pieces of different shapes and sizes that are attached by wire. It's just a sculpture that's three-dimensional and can move."

A local artist, Braun resides in Okemos where he uses various metals to create his work, such as bronze, metal wire and sheet aluminum.

Braun is the fourth featured artist at the art gallery, which opened in February.

"It's a venue where we attract local and neighboring artists who otherwise may not be able to display their art," said Yvette Robinson, the gallery's chairwoman. "It encourages (artists) who have not had exposure, and it has become a focal point in our community."

Braun has been interested in art since he was a little boy. Human figures and representations of nature were his favorite. At 15 years old, Braun came across an Alexander Calder artbook.

"(The book) just transformed me when I saw it," he said. "It was what I needed to express myself; it just completely moved me in terms of what I do artistically."

Calder's influence might be why Braun said he prefers to be called a sculptor rather than an artist.

Although he is the fourth artist to be featured at the gallery, Braun is the first mobile and stabile artist to be shown.

"I'm pleased to have the different kinds of artists interested in displaying their work at the gallery," said Wendy Wilmers Longpre, assistant director of the Parks, Recreations & Arts for the City of East Lansing. "You can view (the gallery) quickly or take a great deal of time there on a real intimate scale.

"You really have an opportunity to get close to the art, which really ties you to the community, in understanding the kind of people that live in the area."

Wilmers Longpre was particularly struck by the various shapes Braun's pieces glide into while moving with the air.

"Every time you look at a mobile, you are going to see something different; it will move and change with the light and air," she said. "I blew on them to see how they moved.

"It's neat to see artwork that changes like that."