Topic: Alexander Calder
One could I be pardoned if, like Rip van Winkle waking up after a 20-year sleep, he finds himself most pleasantly surrounded by a plethora of objets d?art that have mushroomed, replacing the traditional framed pictures that have always adorned walls. I Instantly, he?s amazed to find them made of metal, a material normally used in construction, not ...
ENGINEERS ARE NOT generally known for their involvement in the fine arts, but there have been some notable exceptions. Alexander Calder (1898-1976), who is best known now for his mobiles and stabiles, received a mechanical engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology and worked as an engineer before studying art. His early works exploited his talent for creating wire sculptures ...
Alexander Calder's training as an engineer helped him ultimately to create massive sculptures requiring precise equilibrium. But he honed his mechanical ingenuity - and whimsy - tinkering with miniature circus figures like those in "Prima Donna, Woman with Bow, and Horse" (123/8" x 51/2" x 6") at right. It's now on display at New York's Whitney Museum ...
