Black, White, Yellow and Brass on Red, 1959, Alexander Calder, 1898-1976, sheet metal, brass, wire, and paint, 10 1/2 x 10 x 5 5/8 in., Promised gift of Jon and Mary Shirley, © 2023 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo: Nicholas Shirley, Brightwood Photos
AUDIO GUIDE TRANSCRIPT
NARRATOR:
We often associate Calder with monumental sculpture. But he also worked on a small, delicate scale throughout his career. This case displays a grouping of some of Calder’s small-scale works.
Calder was known for making works like these as gifts. José Diaz.
JOSÉ CARLOS DIAZ:
There's a famous story of Calder making small works encased in a cigar box for his wife, and so his wife, Louisa, can travel with these. She can display them as she saw fit. She can curate them within her own setting.
But it's also the small works’ complexity. So, if you look at this case, you'll notice that the small mobiles are just as detailed. You'll notice that they're balanced. You'll notice that the use of metal is done with such delicacy that it has just as much attention as Calder would focus on for his larger-scaled works. You also can get a sense of the colors. The palettes are very similar to Calder's larger scaled works. You'll notice shapes that are similar to other large-scale works. But it's often because Calder is working within an aesthetic that can really work within scale. And Calder was very conscious when he played with scale because it allowed him to also explore the way that these stabiles and mobiles could function in a setting, regardless of how big they are.