why was alexander calder important

Who is Alexander Calder and why he is considered one of the most important sculptors in the 20th century?

One of the most acclaimed and influential sculptors of the 20th century, Alexander Calder is most renowned for his invention of the mobile, an abstract sculpture that moves.

What is Alexander Calder most famous piece?

1. Dog. 'DOG' was created in 1909 by Alexander Calder in Expressionism style.

How did Alexander Calder change sculpture?

American artist Alexander Calder redefined sculpture by introducing the element of movement, first through performances of his mechanical Calder's Circus and later with motorized works, and, finally, with hanging works called "mobiles." In addition to his abstract mobiles, Calder also created static sculptures, called ...

What art movement was Alexander Calder part of?

Modern artKinetic artSurrealismSection d'OrAlexander Calder/Periods

Who was the first person who made art?

More than 65,000 years ago, a Neanderthal reached out and made strokes in red ochre on the wall of a cave, and in doing so, became the first known artist on Earth, scientists claim. The discovery overturns the widely-held belief that modern humans are the only species to have expressed themselves through works of art.

What are 3 facts about Alexander Calder?

10 Things to Know About Alexander CalderHe is known for 'drawing in space' ... He was a mechanical engineer turned sculptor. ... He was always drawn to the circus. ... He was inspired by meeting Mondrian. ... The War Years altered the materials he used for his sculptures. ... He has had multiple giant structures displayed across the globe.More items...•

Why did Calder create mobiles?

Calder-Inspired Mobiles Calder invented his delicately balanced sculptures because he wanted to draw in the air. As Marchel Duchamp watched them transform and move with the wind, he said Calder should call them mobiles.

Did Alexander Calder invent the mobile?

Artist Alexander Calder was the originator of the mobile. By suspending forms that move with the flow of air, Calder revolutionised sculpture. It was Marcel Duchamp who dubbed these works 'mobiles'.

How did Alexander Calder use the elements of art?

Art that does not look like something real or recognizable and emphasizes the elements of art- line, color, shape, texture, and form- is called abstract. He was very inspired by the universe and nature. Calder decided to make abstract sculptures and he cut wood and metal and bent wire into organic or natural shapes.

Who started the Op Art movement?

Victor VasarelyBeginnings of Op Art However, the style we now know as Op emerged from the work of Victor Vasarely, who first explored unusual perceptual effects in some designs from the 1930s.

Who led the movement of realism art?

Gustave CourbetRealism as an art movement was led by Gustave Courbet in France. It spread across Europe and was influential for the rest of the century and beyond, but as it became adopted into the mainstream of painting it becomes less common and useful as a term to define artistic style.

Who are three most important artists during the Op Art period?

Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely and another artist called Jesus Rafael Soto were three of the most important op artists. Look at the way shapes, colours and light and dark shades are used in these op artworks to change the way 2D images appear.

What is Correggio most famous piece?

the Assumption of the VirginWaterhouse concludes that the Assumption of the Virgin marked "the culmination of Correggio's career as a mural painter, and that his most famous fresco anticipated "the Baroque style of dramatically illusionistic ceiling painting" whereby the "entire architectural surface is treated as a single pictorial unit of vast ...

Did Alexander Calder win any awards?

Presidential Medal of FreedomAlexander Calder / AwardsThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Wikipedia

What was Escher's most famous piece?

Perhaps his most famous work, Hand with Reflecting Sphere is a self-portrait of Escher holding a clear crystal ball on his fingertips. The piece is symmetrical, yet focuses on the distortion of his reflection.

How old was Alexander Calder when he died?

78 years (1898–1976)Alexander Calder / Age at death

What did Calder do?

While residing in France between 1926 and 1933 (with frequent trips back to the United States and to other European countries), he was lauded as the “king of wire” for his cleverly constructed three-dimensional renderings. Using that technique, Calder turned out charming representations of birds, cows (one complete with a “cow patty”: Cow, 1929), elephants, horses, and other animals, including the extraordinary Romulus and Remus of 1928 that depicts the mythical founders of Rome being nursed by a she-wolf. He also created intricate tableaus of circus performers, a subject he had been earlier introduced to as a sketch artist for the National Police Gazette, an influential New York tabloid. But Calder particularly recommended himself with his sensational full-body portraits of jazz-era dancer Josephine Baker and bust portraits of many in his Parisian artistic circle, such as Miró, composer Edgard Varèse, and socialite Kiki de Montparnasse. The making of his Kiki of Montparnasse was filmed by Pathé Cinema in 1929.

Who was Calder's mother?

Calder was the son and grandson of artists—his mother was the painter Nanette Calder (née Lederer; 1866–1960), his father the sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder (1870–1945), and his grandfather sculptor Alexander Milne Calder (1846–1923).

What animals did Calder depict?

Using that technique, Calder turned out charming representations of birds, cows (one complete with a “cow patty”: Cow, 1929), elephants, horses, and other animals, including the extraordinary Romulus and Remus of 1928 that depicts the mythical founders of Rome being nursed by a she-wolf.

When was Calder's first book published?

Calder proved himself a fluid draftsman, and in 1926 his first book, the drawing manual Animal Sketching, was published; it was reissued as part of an art instructional series in 1941, reprinted in 1973, and is still in print. In 1926 he also sailed to England, made his way to Paris, and was ensconced in a studio there by late summer. He remained tied to France during his lifetime, eventually establishing a studio in Saché (now the site of Atelier Calder, which hosts young sculptors in a residency program).

Where did Calder go to school?

After a peripatetic childhood, relocating from Pennsylvania to Arizona, California, and New York as necessitated by his father’s commissions and teaching positions, 17-year-old Calder enrolled in the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, and received a degree in mechanical engineering in 1919.

What was Cirque Calder made of?

Replete with spring-action and pull-toy performers and animals that he created out of bits and pieces of cloth, yarn, cork, and wire, Calder sent the acts through their paces while providing sound effects. For many years Cirque Calder was considered a youthful precursor to his more-serious endeavours.

What did Alexander Calder do?

Alexander Calder, known as Sandy, was born into a long line of sculptors, being part of the fourth generation to take up the art form. Constructing objects from a very young age , his first known art tool was a pair of pliers. At eight, Calder was creating jewelry for his sister's dolls from beads and copper wire. Over the next few years, as his family moved to Pasadena, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco, he crafted small animal figures and game boards from scavenged wood and brass. Calder's interest initially led not to art, but to mechanical engineering and applied kinetics, which he studied at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey (1915-1919).

What did Calder make?

At eight, Calder was creating jewelry for his sister's dolls from beads and copper wire. Over the next few years, as his family moved to Pasadena, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco, he crafted small animal figures and game boards from scavenged wood and brass.

How did Calder shift from figurative linear sculptures in wire to abstract forms in motion?

Calder shifted from figurative linear sculptures in wire to abstract forms in motion by creating the first mobiles. Composed of pivoting lengths of wire counterbalanced with thin metal fins, the appearance of the entire piece was randomly arranged and rearranged in space by chance simply by the air moving the individual parts.

What was Calder's first stabile?

Counterpoint to his mobiles, Calder created many stabiles, composed of intersecting shaped planes of bolted sheet metal, often painted a single color. Devil Fish was the first larger-scale stabile Calder made. By forming combinations of curved biomorphic shapes, Calder creates a swirling sense of motion, even in a static sculpture such as this. Later stabiles combined both organic and geometric forms.

What is Alexander Calder's sculpture?

American artist Alexander Calder redefined sculpture by introducing the element of movement, first through performances of his mechanical Calder's Circus and later with motorized works, and, finally, with hanging works called "mobiles.". In addition to his abstract mobiles, Calder also created static sculptures, ...

What was Calder's desire to create abstract paintings that moved through space?

Interested in astronomy, he compared his works' discrete moving parts to the solar system.

What is the significance of Calder's Circus?

Three films were made of Calder's Circus performances, but the work's significance is that it is one of the earliest modern works in which the artist is equally involved as both a "maker" and a performer. Artwork Images.

What did Alexander Calder do as a child?

As a child, Alexander Calder had his own workshop where he created gadgets and toys from scraps of metal and wood. He studied engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, and worked in a succession of unskilled jobs, which included timekeeping at a logging camp and demonstrating garden cultivators. These workaday jobs motivated Calder to move to Paris to study art. In Europe, Calder entertained his wide circle of friends, including artists Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, and Piet Mondrian, with a huge variety of articulated toys, circus figures, and wire sculptures. Calder is best known for his invention of mobiles, delicate constructions of wire, metal, and wood that move with the slightest breeze. However, during the last twenty years of his life, Calder focused on monumental, static stabiles for public commissions.

What is Calder known for?

Calder is best known for his invention of mobiles, delicate constructions of wire, metal, and wood that move with the slightest breeze. However, during the last twenty years of his life, Calder focused on monumental, static stabiles for public commissions.

What did George Luks do in 1926?

While in Paris in 1926, he took up sculpture.

Who created the first abstract stabiles?

Impressed by the work of Juan Miró, Jean Arp, and Fernand Léger, he created his first abstract stabiles in 1930. These works also owe much to the rectilinear designs of Piet Mondrian. From these early works and his interest in movement, Calder developed handcranked, motorized, and then wind-powered constructions that were dubbed ​ “ mobiles” by the French artist Marcel Duchamp. These sculptures, usually painted in bold basic colors, turn, bob, and rotate, in a constantly changing relationship to the space around them.

Who is Joan Stahl?

Joan Stahl American Artists in Photographic Portraits from the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection (Washington, D.C. and Mineola, New York: National Museum of American Art and Dover Publications, Inc., 1995) Alexander Calder was born in Philadelphia in 1898, the son of the distinguished academic sculptor A. Stirling Calder.

What did Calder do?

Drawn to the ease and simplicity of it, Calder began to make wire portraits. A combination of a line drawing and of sculpture, these instant portraits represented a new possibility in three dimensional art.

Who was Calder interested in?

It was around this time that he became interested in the work of the Surrealist painter Joan Miró and the modernist painter Piet Mondrian.

What is Calder's aim?

SHARE. In short, although Calder has no desire to imitate anything—his one aim is to create chords and cadences of unknown movements— his mobiles are at once lyrical inventions, technical, almost mathematical combinations and the perceptible symbol of Nature: great elusive Nature, squandering pollen and abruptly causing a thousand butterflies ...

What was the Calder Circus made of?

The “Circus” was a miniature reproduction of an actual circus. Made from wire, cork, wood, cloth and other easily found materials, the “Circus” was a working display that Calder would show regularly. A mix between a diorama, a child’s toy, and a fair game, Calder’s “Circus” found many eager fans among the avant-garde. One of the methods used to create the “Circus” was the bending of wire to form realistic figures. Drawn to the ease and simplicity of it, Calder began to make wire portraits. A combination of a line drawing and of sculpture, these instant portraits represented a new possibility in three dimensional art.

When did Alexander Calder die?

That same year his gifts were honored again with a comprehensive show at the Guggenheim Museum and a smaller one at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1976 , Alexander Calder died.

Where was Calder born?

Born in 1898 in Philadelphia, Calder came from a family of artists. Both his father and grandfather were well-known sculptors, and his mother was a painter. Throughout his young life, Calder was more interested in mechanics and engineering than art.

When did Calder's quiet revolution start?

By the time of his first major show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1943, Calder’s quiet revolution was known internationally. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s he was commissioned to create site specific “stabiles” and had major retrospectives in a number of cities including Amsterdam, Berne, and Rio de Janiero.

What are some interesting facts about Alexander Calder?

1. Alexander Calder was born in Philadelphia in 1898 to a family of artists. His mother was a painter, and his father, Alexander Stirling, and grandfather, Alexander Milne, were both well-established sculptors. 2.

What did Calder do?

15. Although primarily known for his traditional artworks, Calder was a talented jeweler, and made various types of jewelry throughout the course of his career. He would most often make these items as gifts for close friends.

How much did Alexander Calder sell for?

Alexander Calder, Various Shapes, Colors, Planes , 1951. Sold at Sotheby’s New York for $2.3 million in May 2018. 7. Galerie Percier, on the right bank of Paris, hosted a performance of Cirque Calder in 1931, which would ultimately solidify Calder’s status as a world-renowned artist.

How did Cirque Calder move?

9. Many of Calder’s sculptures, most notably the individual parts of Cirque Calder, were moveable through the artist’s manipulation of various pulleys and cranks; many consider this an early antecedent of Performance Art, although it predated the movement by nearly 40 years.

What was Calder's first kinetic sculpture?

Technically, Calder’s first kinetic sculpture was of a duck, which he presented to his mother as a Christmas gift in 1909. It was made from a formed, brass sheet and rocked back and forth when touched. 3.

What was the first prize awarded to Calder?

14. Calder won first prize at the 1952 Venice Biennale, which catapulted him to fame and was the catalyst for several high-profile public commissions around the world, including the massive mobile piece Flight installed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Where did Calder start his art career?

4. While working as an illustrator for the National Police Gazzette, Calder began taking evening drawing classes at the 42 nd Street New York Public School; a year later, he began studying painting at the Arts Students League with John Sloan and George Luks.

What color was Alexander Calder's first coat of paint?

Alexander Calder, FLAMINGO, 1973 shown in its first coat of paint considered to be too dark a red and too glossy.

Who made the Calder Red paint?

When Guardsman Chemical Company closed its business, the established Calder Red color formula was preserved and alkyd Calder Red paints were thereafter provided by Pro Coating Inc. of Sparta, Michigan from the Guardsman color formula6.

What color is the Calder Red?

The color widely known as “Calder Red” is the characteristic matte orange red color (somewhat similar to vermilion or “Chinese Red”) used and specified by the artist for parts or the whole of his stabiles, many of which are monumental and outdoors, of the period 1963 to 1976. Earlier use of this color, or variants the artist may have used, was not researched by the authors. The artist also used the darker, standard red color “Signcraft Red” (and other colors) produced by the Ronan paint company located in the Bronx, New York, for components of his mobiles. The Ronan paints are flat, quick drying decorative paints known as “Japan Colors” not suitable for enduring outdoor exposure. The information in this document does not necessarily imply that there were not variants in the red color of paints used and/or approved by the artist for the stabiles.3But clearly one color predominated.

Who interviewed Stephen Segre about Calder Red paint?

Robert Lodge interviewed Stephen Segre about the Calder Red paint around 1997, and also around that time he interviewed Mr. Long of Keeler & Long company at an SSPC (Society for Protective Coatings, formerly the Steel Structures Painting Council) meeting in San

Who said Calder Red was not too particular?

3A copy of a letter once in the possession of Robert Lodge (misplaced or lost) from Klaus Perls (Perls Gallery, NY) has Mr. Perls stating exactly or in effect in regard to Calder Red: “he was not too particular about an exact color.” However, Mr. Perls has been criticized for not being particular about many matters himself.

Who made the paint for the sculpture?

The first paint for overpainting the sculpture matching this French paint in color was provided by Ford Paint and Varnish Company, founded by former U.S. President Gerald Ford’s stepfather in 1929.8Presumably, having no evidence, the Ford Paint and Varnish Company matched the color of the paint shipped with the sculpture and may even have had the shipped supply of dry pigments. This color formula was passed from Ford to Guardsman Chemical Company and accurately so, according to a Guardsman company spokesperson interviewed by Robert Lodge.9

Summary of Alexander Calder

Accomplishments

Biography of Alexander Calder