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Published by Taschen,1998, softcover, illustrated, 95 pages, condition: new.
When the final tally of key movers in the plastic arts of this century is compiled, there is no doubt that maestro of movement Alexander Calder (1898-1976), the man who put the swing into sculpture, will be near numero uno. Calder took it off the plinth, gave it to the wind, and left us kinetic playgrounds of the spirit. He operated at the point where Modernity and nature Fused, developing an environmental art that changed the medium Forever. Visiting his Paris atelier in 1932, Duchamp coined the term "Mobiles" For Calder's delicate wire and disc pieces, constructions that would soon become immensely popular. But he didn't rest on his innovations. Friends with Miro, Mondrian and Leger, Calder also turned his hand to painting, drawing, gouaches, toys, textiles and utensil design. A graphic master who sketched as much in air as in ink, the Sixties and Seventies saw Calder take on the monumental, translating the dynamics of cities into both his Mobiles and "Stabiles". At a time when sculpture was perceived to be the antithesis of movement, Calder unmade gravity and freed the elements in a body of work that is still sending a wind of change through the art world today.
Viewing Alexander Calders colorful, dynamic, and often whimsical art always gives me a lift. Though Calders art can only be fully appreciated when viewed personally, Baal-Teshuva does a good job of illustrating the work, especially in such a small book. The artwork is photographed in situ, mostly in full color. A varied selection of mobiles, stabiles, paintings, wire sculpture, jewelry, kinetic art, and even custom-painted airplanes is portrayed. The photos, for the most part, dont seem too small, even though they often depict huge objects. Most photos are provided by museums. The small size of the book is refreshing for those used to reading heavy and unwieldy art books.
The text is a short overview of Calders life in the art world, including a bit about his sculptor father and grandfather, but just a short mention of his painter mother. Sandy, as he is known to friends and family, is depicted as lighthearted and lovable, in fact the darling of this art contemporaries. Even Dadaists and Surrealists who dont particularly appreciate mobiles like him.
