The Engineer Behind Calder’s Art

This article reviews the significance of Alexander Calder’s, a renowned sculptor, technical and engineering expertise that has become increasingly clear in recent years. Calder’s most important innovation in the development of wire sculpture was the suspension of his wire forms from a single wire thread. A small wood-and-wire caricature of a monkey was the first, soon followed by several caricatures of Josephine Baker, the star of La Revue N è gre at the Folies Bergè re and an international sensation in 1925. Like Leonardo da Vinci, Calder was primarily interested in problem solving, in experimenting with materials, mechanical systems, and devices. Calder’s studio was like a laboratory, with experimental works piled into corners or suspended from hooks in the ceiling. The most engaging aspect of Calder’s sculpture was its interaction with space. Mobiles participated in lively dialogues with their environs, reacting to air currents and human touch.