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"My
fan mail is enormous. Everyone is under six." ~ Alexander Calder
"To
an engineer, good enough means perfect.
With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect." ~ Alexander Calder
Alexander
Calder ,
1898-1976, American sculptor, b. Philadelphia;
son of a
prominent
sculptor, Alexander Stirling Calder. Among the most innovative
modern
sculptors, Calder was trained as a mechanical engineer. In 1930 he
went to
Paris and was influenced by the art of Mondrian and Miró. In 1932 he
exhibited
his first brightly colored constellations, called mobiles,
consisting
of painted cut-out shapes connected by wires and set in motion by
wind
currents. The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, has several
examples.
These buoyant inventions and his witty wire portraits, his
colorful
and complex miniature zoo (1925; Whitney Mus., New York City), and
his
immobile sculptures known as stabiles, have brought Calder world renown.
Many
of his later works are huge, heavy, and delicately balanced mobiles
produced
for public buildings throughout the world. Calder is also noted for
his
book illustrations and stage sets. He had studios in Roxbury, Conn., and
Paris." (From
Infoplease.com)
Biographies
-- General information -- Art:
National
Gallery of Art: Calder Virtual Tour (needs Quick Time)
This
has a picture of Calder with wire "Josephine Baker"-- such a fun
image!
Includes a section on macquettes -- good for lesson ideas for kids.
You
could spend hours "touring" this exhibit.
Alexander
Calder Foundation
(Flash intro)
Introduction/biography
(to skip intro)
Calder's life/chronology
Calder
Works
(and
there is Josephine
again!)
Alexander
Calder Brief biography from The Guggenheim. Works
in the Collection
Alexander
Calder - Encarta
biography (how to use citation included)
Alexander
Calder Ro Gallery-- prints and biography (there are many art prints resources
on the WWW)
Smithsonian
interview with Calder Find out what Calder had to say about Calder.
Kinetic
art:
Kinetic
art, term referring to sculptured works that include motion as a
significant
dimension. The form was pioneered by Marcel Duchamp, Naum Gabo,
and
Alexander Calder. Kinetic art is either non-mechanical, e.g., Calder's
mobiles,
or mechanical, e.g., works by Gabo, László Moholy-Nagy, and Jean
Tinguely.
The latter sort of kineticism developed in response to an
increasingly
technological culture.
Infoplease.com
Alexander
Calder San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art. Toys, circus,
mobiles--more!
See all of the art that moves - sculpture in motion.
See
some video clips from Calder's Circus -- from the
Roland Collection. (scroll down to view the video) It was in Paris in 1927
that Calder created the miniature circus celebrated in this film - tiny wire
performers, ingeniously articulated to walk tightropes, dance, lift weights
and engage in acrobatics in the ring.
Mobiles:
Mobile, a type of moving sculptural artwork developed by Alexander Calder
in
1932 and named by Marcel Duchamp. Often constructed of colored metal
pieces
connected by wires or rods, the mobile has moving parts that are
sensitive
to a breeze or light touch; it can be designed to hang from the
ceiling
or stand free on the floor. Mobiles became popular in the 1950s for
interior
decoration.
Infoplease.com
Mobile
- Alexander Calder from Guggenheim Museum
Stabiles:
Stabile,
an abstract construction that is completely stationary. The form
was
pioneered by Alexander Calder, and examples were termed stabiles to
distinguish
them from mobiles, their moving counterparts, also invented by
Calder.
Infoplease.com
Calder
Stabile: Four Arches
Alexander
Calder- Public Sculpture Four Arches. Other works on this
site by Calder include: Big
Sail at MIT, Flamingo
in Chicago, Le
Guichet in New York City, The
Hawk for Peace in Berkeley, and Stegosaurus
in Hartford, Connecticut. Calder
images: Mary Ann Sullivan- Bluffton College
Find
out more!
Alexander
Calder: American Masters PBS
Artcyclopedia:
Alexander
Calder on the Net
More links to images on The Web
Mobile
Sculpture - Artist
inspired by Calder Timothy Rose See the work of contemporary
artist Timothy Rose. Timothy Rose has been devoting his life to hanging mobile
sculpture for more than 30 years.
Lesson
Plans -Teacher Resources
"World
on a String" (Calder) - song by Greg Percy - Songs in the
Key of Art Vol. II
Making
Mobiles: Alexander Calder Master of Balance ArtsEdge Lesson Plan
Mobile
Maker - online interactive from National Gallery of Art. Also try this Flash
interactive mobile.
Simple
Mobile and Wire Circus from San Diego Museum of Art (pdf file). Lesson
contains biographical information, inspirations, and online resources.
Calder
Style Mobiles - by Larry Prescott's students, Madison
Middle School
From Larry: First the wire was purchased at Lowes.
I believe it is called baling wire...it is very cheap (7.95 a roll?)
and a few roles will make 30 to 40 mobiles. You might be able to find
the wire at a farm or ranch store. Next, I purchased needle nose
pliers at Wal-Mart for 2.00 to 3.00 a piece. Each kid needs a pair of
these pliers. I also purchased some slip joint pliers and side
cutters at Wal-Mart for the same price. These tools are used to
make the "jump" connecting rings. The individual shapes were
first cut from a cardboard box and then covered with layers of paper maché
to give the shapes more substance. When dry, the shapes were sanded
using an orbital sander. This produces a product much like balsa wood.
(Note: I have made mobiles like this in the past and have used shoe polish
over the dry tempera. When brushed and polished, the pieces look like
carved wood and have a very nice "feel" to t! hem) Next they were
painted with tempera paint. Kids then drilled the holes with an
electric drill. I used an old 2x6 under the pieces when they were
being drilled. Kids who finished the mobiles early were encouraged to
experiment with the wire by making sculptures.
I used the video Alexander Calder from the
American Masters series. It was fantastic. A must see. My
7th graders were focused the entire time. I also showed the video Mobiles
How to Create Them by Timothy Rose. I have seen very few good
"how to" videos, but this one is an exception. The middle
section of the video is the most valuable. He gives some good
technical advice regarding the construction of mobiles.
This was a fun project and the kids enjoyed using actual
tools. One side note...the making of the jump rings (shown in the Rose
video became very popular) Kids made the connection between jump rings
and chain mail. Several kids began to create small pieces of jewelry
including gold painted chains...who would guess! I may use the jewelry
diversion as a major area of study next year.
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