the great leslie

I finally saw the Alexander Calder show at the Whitney: The Paris Years, 1926-1933. I thought it was great: Calder was such an inventive fellow. The show is centered around Calder's Circus, which was made during these years in Paris and is owned by the Whitney. Calder crafted strong men, acrobats, clowns, elephants, and circus ladies out of wire and wood, and all the figures move. All the toys that Calder made moved, and videotape of him and others actually playing with the toys was shown on the walls (yay, multi-media!).

Calder works a single piece of wire into a woman's figure. His wire portraits look like faces one might see walking down Fifth Avenue. These pieces are hung all together at the entrance of the show, the light creating thin shadows on the wall. His skill and imagination are so evident and inspiring. And they are FUN! FUN! I love fun art. It's great to leave a place smiling.