Alexander Calder 1898 - 1976 Art Masterpiece – Lesson 6.

Alexander Calder1898 - 1976

Art Masterpiece – Lesson 6

About the ArtistBorn in 1898 in Pennsylvania. Studied Mechanical Engineering in He began working at various jobs

DrafterLogger Riverboat firefighter

About the ArtistHe started to study drawing and

painting at the Art Students League in New York City

He moved to Paris and began producing amusing animates from paper, rags, wire and wood.

His friends described him as a curious, quiet, likeable man whose hands and thoughts were always in motion.

He died in New York in 1976.

About the Artist"The universe is real but you can't see it.

You have to imagine it. Once you imagine it, you can be realistic about reproducing it."

Calder’s ArtHe invented the mobile and stabile

A stabile is an abstract sculpture similar to a mobile but made to be stationary

He made motorized and hand-cranked sculptures

First artist to make sculpture move. During his career, he produced more than

17,000 works. Do you think

these can move?

Do you think these can

move?

Calder’s ArtHis large arching sculptures are found in

parks and plazas across the world.

Vocabulary DefinitionsKinetic Sculpture

A sculpture that moves or has moving parts. The motion may come from the forces of air, gravity, electricity, etc.

LinesContinuous marks with length and directionA line can vary in length, width, direction,

curvature and color. Lines can be

Two-dimensional (a pencil line on paper), Three-dimensional (wire) Implied

Motion

Stabile Example

What do these

stabiles remind you

of?

What do these

stabiles remind you

of?

Mobile Examples

How do these

mobiles make you

feel?

How do these

mobiles make you

feel?

Alexander Calder - Cowboy on HorseThis is a wood, leather, cloth, cork and

string kinetic sculptureThe artist spent much of his career creating

sculptures of characters and acts in the circus.

The sculpture can be moved in a number of ways.

Alexander Calder - Cowboy on a Horse

Alexander Calder - Elephant

What We Will Be DoingDetermine what kinds of animals you would like to

create. (Four-legged are best.)Imagine you have x-ray vision and draw just the

bones of an animal on your paper. (Like dog example)

Use pipe cleaners to recreate the animal in your drawings. It is important to start with one pipe cleaner and then

twist on the next ones as you need them. Cutting the pipe cleaner into smaller pieces makes

the artwork flimsy. You need to have a fluid continuous line in order to make the structure substantial.

Try to show movement in your pieces. After everyone is done, we will try to guess the

animal and the action of each other’s sculpture.

Pipe Cleaner Dog