THE COLLECTION
Alexander Calder (American, 1898–1976)
Spider
- Date:
- 1939
- Medium:
- Painted sheet aluminum, steel rod, and steel wire
- Dimensions:
- 6' 8 1/2" x 7' 4 1/2" x 36 1/2" (203.5 x 224.5 x 92.6 cm)
- Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Number:
- 391.1966.a-c
- Copyright:
- © 2013 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Focus: Alexander Calder
2007
Although Calder often titled his works after he completed them, this work does suggest an abstract homage to a spider—its slender, curved wires, in particular, conjure the legs of an arachnid. Calder has orchestrated a careful balancing act between the large disc and the dramatically cantilevered appendages, which slowly flutter in space with every current of air. A steel rod anchors the sculpture, making this a standing mobile, yet unpredictable movement constantly modifies its form.
The existentialist philosopher Jean–Paul Sartre extolled Calders mobiles. He described the mobile as a "lyrical invention," inhabiting "a half–way station between the servility of a statue and the independence of nature. Each of its evolutions is the inspiration of a split second. One sees the artists main theme, but the mobile embroiders it with a thousand variations."
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