Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926-1933 (Whitney Museum of American Art)
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Editorial Reviews
In 1926, Alexander Calder (1898–1976) moved from New York to Paris and began to use time and motion as "materials" for animating line and space. Calder’s years in Paris––an understudied part of the artist’s career––is the focus of this marvelous publication.
A team of international scholars discusses Calder’s many innovations of this period, chief among them his abstract, motorized, and mobile works. They analyze the extended cast of Calder’s animated Circus, made in Paris between 1926 and 1931, and include previously unpublished photographs by Brassaï and Kertesz of Calder and this beloved performative sculpture. The essays critically explore the intellectual, cultural, and artistic milieu of Paris in the late 1920s and early 1930s and the contexts of Calder’s friendships with Miró, Mondrian, Duchamp, and Man Ray, among others. What emerges in this fascinating book is a nuanced and detailed understanding of how Calder’s distinctive career first took flight.
A team of international scholars discusses Calder’s many innovations of this period, chief among them his abstract, motorized, and mobile works. They analyze the extended cast of Calder’s animated Circus, made in Paris between 1926 and 1931, and include previously unpublished photographs by Brassaï and Kertesz of Calder and this beloved performative sculpture. The essays critically explore the intellectual, cultural, and artistic milieu of Paris in the late 1920s and early 1930s and the contexts of Calder’s friendships with Miró, Mondrian, Duchamp, and Man Ray, among others. What emerges in this fascinating book is a nuanced and detailed understanding of how Calder’s distinctive career first took flight.
Customer Reviews
The Artistic Genius of Alexander Calder's Paris Years. , 2008-11-28
by G. Merritt (Boulder, CO)
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was an American sculptor and artist, perhaps best known for inventing the mobile. He moved from New York to Paris in 1926, where he established a studio in the Montparnasse Quarter. His articulated toys (particularly the "Cirque Calder") constructed from wire, string, rubber, cloth, and other found objects became popular with the Parisian avant-garde. Soon he had become a central figure of the Modern movement.
Many of his abstract, motorized, and mobile figures are represented in this impressive collection of works from Calder's years in Paris, 1926 to 1931. Simon and Leal are curators at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Pompidou Center, respectively, and their charming book collects eight essays which examine Calder as illustrator, surrealist and abstractionist; the intellectual, cultural, and artistic milieu of Paris at the time; Calder's friendships with Miró, Mondrian, Duchamp, and Man Ray; and the significance of Calder's Circus. This entertaining collection will appeal to adults and children alike.
G. Merritt
Many of his abstract, motorized, and mobile figures are represented in this impressive collection of works from Calder's years in Paris, 1926 to 1931. Simon and Leal are curators at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Pompidou Center, respectively, and their charming book collects eight essays which examine Calder as illustrator, surrealist and abstractionist; the intellectual, cultural, and artistic milieu of Paris at the time; Calder's friendships with Miró, Mondrian, Duchamp, and Man Ray; and the significance of Calder's Circus. This entertaining collection will appeal to adults and children alike.
G. Merritt
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Book Details
| Pages | 302 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN | 0300126220 |
| Publisher | The Whitney Museum of American Art |
| Publication Date | 2008-09-08 |
| Sales Rank | #107707 |