A mobile, a moving sculpture, is an object that is relatively familiar to the general public. It is not strange at all to see newborn babies carefully watching flying mobiles hanging in the air with their sparkly eyes full of curiosity. To any readers who might have wondered how this interesting object might have been first created or who might have possibly made this, here is good news. The Leeum Museum, Samsung Museum of Art, is currently throwing an exhibition named Calder in remembrance of Alexander Calder, the very progenitor of the mobile.

 
   
▲ Alexander Calder

 

   
▲ Object with Yellow Background, Plywood, sheet metal, rod, string, and paint, 1936

   
▲ Rouge Triumphant, 1959-65

Leeum Museum, which is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, was founded in 2004 for the purpose of becoming a cultural and artistic root of Asia, while bridging the different arts of the West and the East. The architecture of the museum is another notable aspect to pay closer attention to as it embraces distinctive styles designed and combined by three internationally renowned
architects: Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel, and Rem Koolhaas. The museum basically aims to present the visitors with a satisfying and inspiring artistic experience where past, present, and future harmoniously coexist.
 
Known as the very inventor of the mobile, the sculpture with constant movement, Alexander Calder is indisputably one of the most crucial figures in the history of modern sculpture. Calder was born in 1898 to a family with artistic backgrounds and history, having both his parents as professional artists. Although he majored in mechanical engineering as an undergraduate student, he ultimately chose to pursue his passion and calling in art.
 
When the visitors first step into the exhibition hall, it will be a series of works from an early period, including paintings, drawings, and three dimensional wire sculptures, when he still was an art student.
 
At this point, however, Calder was not particularly aware of the fact that he was sculpting something but rather simply transferring two dimensional drawings to a space. However, it now began to form a sense of volume while retaining Calder’s major interest of movement and dynamics. A “cow” and a “circus scene” are exemplary art pieces in which the visitor can experience this sense of development.
 
After graduating from art college, Calder moved to Paris, then the center of the contemporary art, in which he was able to make connections and friendships with influential avant-garde artists, such as Piet Mondrian, Joan Miro, and Marcel Duchamp. Residing within this vibrant and creative artistic community, Calder was greatly inspired by both abstraction and surrealism, which substantially further prompted his artistic experiments and explorations.
 
   
▲ Flamingo, a massive stabile located in Chicago, 1974
In fact, it was during this period that Calder invented an entirely new concept of sculpture, the mobile, which literally changed the landscape of modern sculpture scenery. After first visiting the studio of Piet Mondrian, who was by then already an aged virtuoso of abstractionism with vertical lines and minimal colors, Calder was literally and utterly shocked by this new possibility and potentiality. He was now newly taken to the world of abstraction and expressed his initial impression that “It was like a universe. I want to transform drawing and painting into a form of moving universe in the space.”
 
As a result of his artistic branching project of abstraction, Calder’s work became more simple and minimal. His curvilinear and diagonal composition was basically to capture the subtle movement and dynamic energy of an object. A piece of sculpture named Croisiere is an epitome artwork that well manifests the universe-like forms and movements that can be found throughout his entire collections of works. Also, “Untitled (1933)” and “Untitled (1934)” are additional artworks in which a viewer can trace the influence of abstractionism.
 
Calder’s sculpture now took a unique style and figure of his own with small to medium-sized objects hanging and swimming in the air. This was indeed one of the most groundbreaking and forwarding steps in the history of modern sculpture since it was an absolutely novel and innovative approach to the understanding of sculpture. A work named Constellation manifests the maturity of skills and strategies of Calder which was possible not only through his artistic senses but also his engineering knowledge.
 
The specific name “mobile” was given by one of Calder’s insider friends, Marcel Duchamp, who is also an immensely important figure in the modern art scene typically known for his piece of work called Fountain. When Duchamp initially visited Calder’s studio, he named it so because the sculpture was obviously disparate from the conventional sculpture as Calder’s retained spontaneous mobility within it. In comparison to this, the term “stabile,” another important series of work that can be characterized by its static and “stable” construction with carefully perched legs firmly rooted on the ground, was titled by fellow abstract artist Jean Arp.
 
The exhibition also displays a collection of jewelries made by Calder himself from which you can vividly observe his excellent taste, talents, and creativity regarding handicrafts. There is a famous anecdote where Peggy Guggenheim wore one of Calder’s earrings to the opening ceremony of an art gallery to symbolically represent her support both for abstractionism and surrealism. This series also tells us about the personality of Calder: that he was a friendly, humorous, and sociable person with fun-loving sprits in that he gave accessories handmade by himself, to his close acquaintances.
   
▲ Rearing Stallion, 1928
 
The exhibition in general was fascinating and captivating as it is possible to deeply explore the artistic journey of Calder who never stopped to experiment with undiscovered possibilities while remaining to be cheerful and witty. As he once said “A mobile is a piece of poetry that dances with the joy of life and surprise.” His works and life is full of energy, creativity, and insights with genuine interests to the world and people. Thus, a visit to the exhibition will lead you to newly open and widen your eyes to the world of artistic innovation and importance.

 

저작권자 © The Granite Tower 무단전재 및 재배포 금지