Love of nature has prompted artist Ned Kahn to create the fluid, moving of interactive sculptures that have been placed throughout the world.

After working at the Yahoo! Headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., displaying art in Germany, winning seven awards for his art and lecturing at places such as Harvard University and the Art Institute of Chicago, Kahn will give his lecture, “Turbulent Landscapes,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Kocimski Auditorium in the College of Design.

Using natural elements like water, air and sand to build his creations, Kahn finds inspiration in wind, fire, light and fog, says Cameron Campbell, assistant professor in architecture and coordinator of the lecture.

“I’d love all students in all walks of life to see [Kahn’s] work,” Campbell says.

“His work definitely has a certain appeal to students interested in … geographical influences,” he says.

“Slice of Wind,” a piece Kahn completed in 1996, uses 10,000 wind-responsive disks to visually depict the effects of wind. Viewers can pull a lever to observe the wave patterns moving across the reflective disks.

This allows viewers to compare the differences of created patterns versus the effects from the natural wind.

“Slices of Wind” is currently on display at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Campbell says while geography students have a special appreciation for Kahn’s work, students across other disciplines will find the work appealing as well, because Kahn has extensive background in both the arts and the sciences.

“Design students will find one kind of value and I think people in the sciences are being supportive,” he says.

“Even engineering students, to a certain degree, would be intrigued by it. It really appeals to a mass audience,” Campbell says.

Whether viewing “Wavespout” in California, a fountain that uses energy from ocean waves to spray seawater, or “Basin of Attraction,” a forced whirlpool with water from the Niagra River in New York, Campbell says he believes Kahn’s work appeals not only to artists, but to individuals from all walks of life.

“He’ll take wind and blow [it] across sand and it’ll appear like sand dunes,” Campbell says.

Campbell says he was immediately interested in Kahn’s work when a friend suggested he view videos of Kahn’s art.

“I was mesmerized the second I saw it on tape,” he says. “I could sit there and watch it all day, it’s that beautiful.”

Campbell chose Kahn to give his lecture after seeing his work.

“[It’s] the kind of wave and elegance and sophistication of wind [that] he really puts on display,” Campbell says.

Kahn was chosen as a lecturer not because of his speaking abilities, Campbell says, but because of the sheer quality of his work.

“We’re interested in how he comes up with the design,” Campbell says.

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Who: Turbulent Landscapes

Where: Kocimski Auditorium, College of Design

When: 7 p.m.

Cost: Free