Description
Alexander Calder is best known as the artist who successfully incorporated motion into sculpture. Finding the predictable movements of mechanized forms restrictive, he developed sail-like forms that, suspended on thin wire armatures, moved in the wind. They were given the name mobiles by Marcel Duchamp. Much of Calders art, which includes mobiles, stabiles, paintings, drawings, and jewelry, is characterized by a lively ingenuity. His mobiles are especially innovative, dancing in the air with their often brightly colored discs that dangle in eccentric yet balanced compositions. The gentle, slow movement of Calders work implies the continuous and mysterious flow of time acting on natural objects. Four at Forty-Five Degrees is constructed of brightly colored, biomorphically shaped discs that hang from a red armature. The largest shapes resemble lily pads and dangle from chains, appearing to float. The others are colorful abstract bodies that slowly move through space. The red, blue, and yellow colors and the eccentric shapes impart a festive atmosphere to the lobby of the Tower Building.
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Details
- Work Date:
- 1966
- Location:
- Corning Tower Plaza Lobby
- Dimensions:
- 5'-0" x 18'-0"
- Medium:
- polychromed sheet metal