How did Alexander Calder make his mobiles?

2 years ago

2 minutes

To make a mobile, he attached brightly painted metal shapes to wire, using trial and error to balance each one. He usually cut natural forms that looked like leaves and petals rather than hardedge geometric shapes.

What were Calder mobiles made of?

Made from sheet steel, bolted together and brightly painted, these works wrecked his critical reputation and bloated his bank balance. Around 100 of Calder’s early wire works and mobiles will be exhibited at Tate Modern next month.

How do you make Alexander Calder mobile?

Quote from video: Pretty basic materials. So first thing what we're going to do is we're going to take our scissors and we're going to cut out a whole bunch of shapes.

What inspired Alexander Calder to make mobiles?

Trained as an engineer and an artist, Calder was intrigued by Piet Mondrian’s experimentations of color and form, and himself created “moving Mondrians”—free hanging, mobile sculptures engaged in constant physical change.

What techniques did Alexander Calder use?

Alexander Calder is known for inventing wire sculptures and the mobile, a type of kinetic art which relied on careful weighting to achieve balance and suspension in the air. Initially Calder used motors to make his works move, but soon abandoned this method and began using air currents alone.

Who is famous for making mobiles?

Artist Alexander Calder was the originator of the mobile. By suspending forms that move with the flow of air, Calder revolutionised sculpture. It was Marcel Duchamp who dubbed these works ‘mobiles’. Rather than a solid object of mass and weight, they continually redefine the space around them as they move.

How can I make mobile?

Quote from video: You're going to snip it with the Y is the PIRs. And this player is really malleable. So you can form it out a little bit so that it creates an arc. And you're going to take the ends of the wire.