Alexander Calder Bay Area Exhibition Review

 

The Alexander Calder Dissonant Harmony exhibition was not what I intended to find at the Museum of Modern Art, but it was very welcoming to stumble into. The exhibition was composed of ten different stabiles and sculptures, half of them were all black and the other half were the primary and secondary colors. Born in 1898, Alexander Calder was an American sculptor known for his innovative stabiles. He started out using motors to make his work move, but left that idea behind and allowed the air to create movement. All of Calder’s works shown at the MOMA were stabiles, so they did not have motors, except one of the pieces was a wall clock that would go off at 1:30pm every Monday.

Alexander Calder, Eighteen Numbered Black, 1953, metal and paint

Alexander Calder, Double Gong, 1953, metal and paint

Two of the largest sculptures in the exhibition were the Double Gong and Eighteen Numbered Black. While the room was not large, all ten of the sculptures were spaced out fairly far apart to give each piece space. They were also being displayed in a room where the main light source was natural light as half of the walls were windows. This allowed shadows to be casted on multiple sides of each sculpture. When referring to the Double Gong, Calder has stated “sometimes they make a noise, sometimes they don’t”. The pieces that would come together to make the gong sound would be the red pieces with the bronze pieces towards the top. While Calder stated that they rarely do come together, the unknown of when they will meet is part of the appeal of the piece. Just standing in front of these two sculptures made me as the viewer feel small. They are quite massive in size, but the delicacy of the wire and simplicity of the shapes brings beauty to them both.  

Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1940, metal and paint

The image on the left is the last piece from the Calder exhibition that really stood out to me. The sculpture Untitled was on top of the small table, holding just enough of its weight to be balanced. In person, the shadow created made it appear like a person sitting on the table. This sculpture stood out to me because of the way that it is visually balanced between the heavy form on the bottom of the sculpture and the wire ones at the top. 

Ellsworth Kelly, Spectrum I, 1953, oil on canvas

Another exhibition that was at the MOMA at the same time as the Calder exhibition was the German Art After 1960’s, which included a very wide range of artists. Spectrum I by Ellsworth Kelly was one of my favorite works from this exhibition. I really enjoy how Kelly starts and ends the spectrum created with the same shade of yellow, though it might not appear like it as they are both surrounded by different colors, unlike a traditional color wheel. All of the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors are included in Kelly’s spectrum, and the way that they are placed together makes the colors look like they are moving to me. 

Overall, my day at the Museum of Modern Art was interesting. All of the exhibits they had on display were very informative, but I especially enjoyed the Alexander Calder exhibit and the German Art After 1960’s. I was a little disappointed that my membership with the Crocker Art Museum here in Sacramento wasn’t included with their membership like I thought it was, but I will still be going back in the future.

Me in front of the Museum of Modern Art, 2022