Alexander Calder American sculptor Date of Birth: 22.07.1898 Country: USA

Alexander Calder: A Biography

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor who gained worldwide fame for his intricate wire figures and kinetic sculptures, also known as "mobiles," which were powered by electricity or wind. He was born into a family of sculptors, with his grandfather immigrating from Scotland to Pennsylvania in 1868. His mother, a painter, studied in Paris from 1888 to 1893. Calder grew up on a ranch in Arizona, then later in Pasadena. He began sculpting from a young age, always having his own "workshop" alongside his parents' as they moved from city to city.

In the 1920s, Calder worked as an artist for a newspaper and as a set designer for circus performances. From 1915 to 1919, he studied at the Stevens Institute of Technology, earning a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1922, he attended evening drawing courses in New York, and in 1923, he studied at the Art Students League. In 1926, Calder moved to Paris, where he immersed himself in the avant-garde circles of surrealists and constructivists. It was during this time that he discovered a new form of sculpture - wire figures. These figures were like drawings in space, with humor and the flexibility of puppets. The malleable material allowed for easy changes in the poses of the figures.

In 1927, Calder settled in Paris and became close with avant-garde artists such as Miró, Cocteau, Man Ray, Mondrian, Desnos, Le Corbusier, and others. In 1931, he joined the group of abstract artists known as Abstraction-Création. Calder was fascinated by the circus and created a miniature model of an arena filled with circus figures called "Circus Calder" (1926-1930). These characters, made from soft materials, were brought to life using strings, wires, rubber tubes, and the artist would perform shows for his friends. During a visit to Mondrian's studio in 1930, Calder discovered the potential for creating abstract structures that reflected the continuous changes in nature. Inspired by the movements of celestial bodies observed in a planetarium, he began creating abstract dynamic constructions, known as mobiles, in the early 1930s. The early mobiles, sometimes resembling compositions by Mondrian, were set in motion by a motor called the "Universe" (1934). Later on, Calder abandoned mechanics and found a "natural" way to energize the forms by calculating their own structural balance and the relationship between supporting and suspended elements. Thin metal plates attached to delicate metal rods constantly oscillated, causing the entire system to sway and rotate with even the slightest breeze. With his engineering knowledge, Calder precisely constructed these structures of unstable equilibrium, which scientists often regarded as visual models of natural processes.

The mobiles were displayed on vertical stands, mounted on brackets on walls, or more commonly suspended from the ceiling. In the 1950s, Calder's mobiles became decorative pieces in many interiors, perfectly harmonizing with the functionalist architecture. Alongside his work on mobiles, Calder also created static sculptures called "stabiles" made of painted metal. The early stabiles, of small size, took the form of fantastical animals imagined by the artist. As commissions for public spaces increased, the stabiles grew into monumental sculptures. These large-scale constructions, composed of metal planes of various shapes, entered the space, leaving extensive openings in the form of arches. While echoing the forms of technical structures such as bridges, building frames, and factory equipment, they also contained images from the organic world - figures of people, exotic animals, birds in flight or descent. Calder's monumental stabiles seamlessly integrated into architectural ensembles in many cities across Europe and America.

From the 1950s onwards, Calder primarily focused on monumental sculpture. In 1966, he published an autobiography titled "Autobiography with Pictures." He passed away from a heart attack shortly after the opening of his major retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York. His first retrospective exhibition took place at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1943), followed by one in Paris (1946, with an introduction by Jean-Paul Sartre). In 1952, Calder received the Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale.