ALEXANDER CALDER - Erika Nowak · ALEXANDER CALDER Alexander Calder was an American artist that is...
Transcript of ALEXANDER CALDER - Erika Nowak · ALEXANDER CALDER Alexander Calder was an American artist that is...
Vocabulary Kinetic: of or relating to the movement of physical objects
Mobile: decorative structure that is suspended so as to turn freely
in the air.
Representational: something, such as a picture, object, or
symbol, that stands for something else.
Balance: stability produced by even distribution of weight on
each side of the vertical axis
ALEXANDER CALDER
Alexander Calder was an American artist
that is known for his kinetic mobiles
created from abstract sculptural objects.
Through his use of materials such as
broken glass, shards of ceramic, and other
miscellaneous found debris, his work
created an image about pollution in our
seas and oceans.
Use your imagination –
what other ideas or
experiences does this
work make you think of?
What feelings does this
artwork make you feel?
What qualities of the
work help evoke these
feelings or ideas?
STRUCTURAL FRAME
Fish, 1942 Painted wire, wood, and string.
Website: http://www.calder.org/about/calder-prize
Structural Frame Alexander Calder uses many elements
and principals within his sculpture, such
as color, shape, and texture all
integrated into the Mobile Finny Fish.
Where do you see these elements
working?
What materials are these objects made?
What do you think these objects are
saying about the meaning of this art
work?
Subjective Frame
What do you feel when you look at the work Hanging
Mobile?
What personal experiences does this artwork remind you
of?
How do you think the materials used in this artwork
relate back to the subject?
Finny Fish, 1948 Painted wire, wood, and string
Website: http://alexandercaldermobileinventor.weebly.com/subjective-
frame.html
Hanging Mobile, 1951
A title or caption about the photograph.
The History of the
Mobile
When you think of a mobile,
what comes to mind? A device
you hang from the ceiling above
a baby’s crib? You may even
think of it as another word for a
cell phone. However, the first
known mobiles to be created
didn’t have a real function at
all! The definition of the
original mobile was a type of
kinetic sculpture made to
maintain balance. It consists of
a number of rods, from which
weighted objects or further rods
hang. The objects hanging from
the rods balance each other, so
that the rods remain horizontal.
When Alexander Calder
popularized “mobiles,” they
were simply kinetic sculptures
that were only seen as visual
art. Today, mobiles come in a
variety of shapes, colors, styles,
and some are even battery
powered!
Glass Fish, 1955
Wire and glass
Another Project With a wire hanger, bend it into the
desired representational shape. Using
string, hemp, or thin wire, suspend
recyclable and found objects to create a
sculpture much like Calder’s Glass Fish,
seen above.
Relating to more artists:
After looking at Mandy Parker,
and Shona Wiloson, take a look
at Andy Goldsworthy. He is a
British artist that makes site-
specific artworks using raw
materials from nature.