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Calder's Kinetic Art for Students

Alexander Calder studied art in New York and was fascinated by things that moved as a child. He spent his career designing mobiles and kinetic sculptures, which are works of art that move or have motion from motors or air currents. Calder was interested in balance and made sure all his creations would balance when suspended. The mobile pictured is over 76 feet long, weighs 920 pounds, and hangs in the National Gallery of Art. Calder also made stationary sculptures called stabiles that were often in the form of animals.

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Hartford Courant
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276 views1 page

Calder's Kinetic Art for Students

Alexander Calder studied art in New York and was fascinated by things that moved as a child. He spent his career designing mobiles and kinetic sculptures, which are works of art that move or have motion from motors or air currents. Calder was interested in balance and made sure all his creations would balance when suspended. The mobile pictured is over 76 feet long, weighs 920 pounds, and hangs in the National Gallery of Art. Calder also made stationary sculptures called stabiles that were often in the form of animals.

Uploaded by

Hartford Courant
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Common Core State Standard: ELA: Literacy: R.L. 3.1, 3.4, R.L. 4.1, 4.4, R.L. 5.1, 5.

4, R.L. 6.1, 6.4

Alexander Calder Untitled. 1976.


Alexander Calder studied art at the Art Students League in
New York. As a child, he was fascinated by things that moved,
and he spent much of his career designing mobiles and kinetic
sculptures. Kinetic sculptures are works of art that move or
have motion, either from motors or air currents. Calder was also
interested in balance, and he worked hard to make sure that
all of his creations would balance when suspended in the air.
The mobile pictured below hangs from the ceiling in one of the
galleries at The National Gallery of Art; it is more than 76ft in
length and weighs 920 pounds. Most of Calder’s mobiles were
constructed from brass, sheet metal, wire and paint. Calder did
not have a specific name for this work of art and chose to call
it: “untitled.” If you could name this sculpture, what would you call it? Calder also made stationary sculptures
which he called stabiles. Many of these were in the form of animals, like Rearing Stallion, pictured below.
Article written by the Lyman Allyn Art Museum *Images courtesy of the National Gallery of Art and U.S. Postal Service.

Did you know? Meet the Artist


In March 1998, The U.S. Postal Service issued five different
.32 cent stamps featuring Calder’s sculptures. Rearing • Calder was born on July 22, 1898 in
Stallion (c. 1928) was the inspiration for one of the stamps. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; he died in
1976

• He lived in Pennsylvania, Paris and


Connecticut

• Sculptor

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