Calder
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Calder Details
From Booklist In art, mobile and Alexander Calder are synonymous. Indeed, without Calder, mobile might not be an art term at all. His constructions of brightly colored, flat metal shapes, some or all of which are suspended so that any current of air can move them, constitute a body of modern artwork that is genuinely popular as well as famous. They revive in adults the delighted fascination of an infant with shiny objects dangled just beyond its grasp. It is no surprise, then, to learn from Baal-Teshuva's enthusiastic sketch of Calder that he made toys, at first for his sister, when as young as eight and . . . never stopped. (Another nonsurprise is that his friend Miroinfluenced him; many Calder pieces would fit perfectly into a roomful of Miros.) He also made stabiles, or stable sculptures, paintings, and jewelry. A great many examples in all his characteristic media appear in splendid color in this paperback, which has to be one of the great current bargains among art books. Snap it up! Ray Olson Read more About the Author Jacob Baal-Teshuva, born 1929, is author, critic and independent curator of museum shows. He studied at the Hebrew university in Jerusalem and the New York University. His numerous publications include works on Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Jacob Baal-Teshuva lives and works in New York and Paris. Read more
Reviews
This is a great overview of Calder's work and life. Excellent, accurate color photos of his work, which includes many examples of work beside his famous mobiles--such as jewelry, paintings (even a painting on the exterior of a Braniff DC 8 jetliner), & stabiles (including his toys). Plenty of human-interest type details about Caulder and insights into his "thinking" about art. The book is only 9 X 7 1/2 inches in size, but the images are very satisfying to look at and capture the FUN of his work. A nice Biographical Timeline at the end of the book is very helpful. This is another quality book published by Taschen with an economical price.