7,he twentieth century was in many ways the dawn

of communication throughout the world.

Communication need not take place merely
through the spoken or written word; the mere enabling of
physical proximity by the progressive transportation advances
of those times allowed those who just a century earlier
nay never have met in person to see one another face-to-face.
World travel was finally possible to an ever-increasing
percentage of the global population. What this heralded was an
exchange of ideas that had never before existed on such a scale.
It was through this development that the Modernist
movement was founded and flourished-an influx of
influences from throughout the world fed the imaginations
of a new generation. It was in this atmosphere that the great
American creator Alexander Calder found his artistic birth.
The Modernist era was perhaps the first major epoch where
humanity, at least the Western portion of it, saw a distinct
difference between the past and the present, a break in
traditional continuity. It was a repudiation of the old, but also
trepidation of what was to come. The modern age had
arrived, and it was new, wondrous, frightening, a change that
heralded a new beginning. Perhaps the foremost American
craftsman of the Modernist period, Calder produced both
sculptural work as well as jewelry with an insatiable passion.
Born in 1898 to a succession of both sculptors and
Alexanders, Calder was to start his interest in the crafts world
at an early age. His first recollection of using his hands was
the construction of little wire and wood figures at the age of
five. At age eight, he was producing jewelry for his sister's doll.
Despite this initial propensity, Calder went into the engineering
field as his vocation. Finding the work unfulfilling, he re-
invented himself as an artist, entering the Art Students League
in New York City as a painting student in 1923.
A gradual procession of events would lead Calder onto
other paths, although he never abandoned his interest in
painting and portraiture. Throughout these transformative
steps, there was one continuous thread, one instrumental
icon, which would eventually transform him, and which so
typified Alexander Calder. In his work as an illustrator for
the tabloid National Police Gazette, he would be introduced
to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
T'his formed a lasting impression on the artist. "It wasn't the
daringness of the performers," Calder stated, "nor the tricks
or gimmicks; it was the fantastic balance in motion that the
performers exhibited."I
The circus would end up being a defining characteristic of
Calder's work. A trip to Paris brought him into contact with a
Serbian toymaker, who encouraged Calder into toy production.
This was to be an ephemeral encounter, as Calder was never
able to find the toymaker again. It would prove to be a seminal
event; because of this meeting, Calder would create his
Cirque Calder, an entire miniaturized mechanical performance,
first unveiled in Paris in 1926, as well as his first kinetic
objects, a series of toys with whirling gizmos and doodads.
Eventually, clearly inspired by that "fantastic balance in motion"
Alexander Calder would produce the mobile.
Calder's jewelry has an innocent nature, a playfulness
which does not take much seriously, least of all itself. In his
pieces we can find spontaneity, whimsy and boldness. For
BROOCH of gold, steel wire, inscribed "XIX.II.LVIII'; 6.35 x 13,33 centimeters, 1958, For Louisa on her 53rd birthday, 19 February 1958, Private
Collection, New York, All photographs, with the exception of the Alexander Colder and Brooke Shields portraits, are courtesy of and copyrighted
by 2009 Colder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photography copyright 2007 Maria Robledo.
Opposite page, on the wall: NECKLACE of silver wire; loop 86.36 centimeters, pendant 13.33 x 9.52 centimeters, circa 1943. On table, from left:
BRACELET of gold wire; 7.14 x 7.30 x 6,50 centimeters, circa 1947. CUFFLINKS of silver wire; 3.81 x 1 .27 x 1.90 centimeters, circa 1940. TIARA of silver
wire; 11.43 x 17,78 x 15,55 centimeters, circa 1938.
On page 4: BROOKE SHIELDS wearing Calder necklace. Photograph by Sheila Metzner, 1985.
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NECKLACE of silver wire, cord, ribbon, inscribed "Colder"; loop 40,0 centimeters length, elements 13.33
centimeters long, circa 1943,
artisans, so often there is some necessity for practicality;
a requirement of restriction and restraint, for in order to
make a living, an artisan must have his or her customers. So
often, this requires one to produce that which will sell.
Calder was notable for his independence to this penchant;
perhaps his accrued fame, or maybe just force of will, put him
in a position of power, rather than his clients. Or more probably
what he produced was so unique, so desired at the time,
that those who pursued his work cared not if the creator took
grand liberties. Nevertheless, Calder acted as an elephantine
imperator, producing pieces that completely defied the
requested specifications of the commissioner. A sculpture made
for Princeton University, originally stipulated to be in the
school's colors of orange and black, was repainted in solid
black after Calder viewed the piece in situ, Another designated
by the building's owner to occupy only a small corner snaked
its way across half the building.
One of the essential aspects of Calder's work is its hand-
hewn quality. Unlike the elegant and refined work of the Art
Nouveau period, or much of contemporary jewelry, one can
clearly witness the indentations of the hammer upon metal,
the plier's grip. The range of forms he was able to create with
such basic techniques speaks to a true mastery of the medium.
Calder obviously ascribed to a primordial effervescence,
noting, "Simplicity of equipment and an adventurous spirit in
attacking the unfamiliar or unknown are apt to result in a
primitive and vigorous art. Somehow the primitive is usually
much stronger than art in which technique and flourish
abound."
2
There is a cyclistic nature to the development of
art, most obviously observed in the rapidly evolving culture
of the western, Eurocentric world. The rotation of action and
reaction, of the adoption of new ideas and their rejection,
chronicles the progression of art's history. With Calder, we can
see this reaction against the technical specificity of previous
eras of jewelry-crafting, of the meticulous construction and
thematic constraints. Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Victorian
jewelry, while all of these had freedom of expression in their
own right, none matched the sheer child-like exploration
inherent to Calder's jewelry, and found similarly in subsequent
Modernist jewelers (like Harry Bertoia, Elsa Freund, Art
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Smith, and Margaret l)e Patta). And child-like may be the best
descriptor; in viewing his jewelry, his paintings, his mobiles,
one sees themes reminiscent of one's scribbled sketches of bugs
or animals from youth. Dr. Julia Marciari-Alexander, Deputy
Director for Curatorial Affairs for the San Diego Museum of
Art, remarked on Calder's use of letters/words as the
accentuating capstone of many pieces. Instead of precious gems,
(Calder bent wire into an alphabet soup, which catches the
attention of the eye just as profoundly as a diamond or ruby.
This use of metal rather than gem also demonstrates
Calder's interest in using nontraditional materials for
jewelrymaking; quite possibly a reaction against the high-cost
Components of previous eras, with an intention towards
making personal adornment more viable to the public at large.
Largely eschewing gold, (,alder used brass and silver for his
many creations, as well as broken pottery. Remarking on his
perspective oni using precious materials, Calder wrote,
"'That never appealed to me. A wood sphere painted vermillion
is much better than a gold one.'3 It is noteworthy that even
though most of his pieces utilize only one material, there is
a distinct lack of monotony. Calder created moving parts,
outlandish shapes and elementary configurations to achieve
a unique character equal, if not superior, to those who
would use faceted gems, varieties of semiprecious jewels or
combinations of gold and silver. For Calder, form and shape
were the most important aspects of his work. Often, the form
and shape would become so voluminous that the jewelry
became difficult to wear.
It has been said that fertility arises from messiness,
a willingness to ignore the fear of failure and to accept
anything as a triumph rather than a mistake. Calder might
very well be the embodiment of this observation, as his
work extended to a prodigious prolificness. In jewelry alone
he produced over eighteen hundred works, and in his cherished
mobiles, Calder reported that he made several thousand.
4
Calder rarely if ever created pieces as a production line, refusing
in several cases to replicate a popular design, even though it
was in large demand by a consuming public. Thus the volume
of his work is that much more astounding, as it is entirely
derived from a relentless imagination. Despite the vast volume
of jewelry lie produced, Calder never proved to be derivative,
and kept an aesthetic sensibility to his work that persisted
through his constant experimentation.
Many specimens were created for friends and family.
I.oUisa James Calder, his wife and scion of author Henry James
and philosopher William James, was the primary recipient
of this largess; each new year and birthday produced a new
piece. The importance of these productions, for both wife
and artist, is demonstrated in the little altar set up by Louisa
in the Calder home, which displayed both the jewelry made
for her by her husband, as well as an ode to Calder's studio
NECKLACE of brass wire, ceramic, cord; loop, 40.0 centimeters length, elements
6,66 x 3.49 centimeters, 1930. For Calder's mother on her 64th birthday
BRACELET of silver wire, inscribed "Colder"; 11.58 x 6,98 x 5.87 centimeters,
circa 1945. Private Collection. BRACELET of brass wire; 12.06 x 12.70 x 5,39
centimeters, circa 1940, Private Collection.
"Th. uncr i ig Sense
oi fornn in -)y work
nas ter ( sster)
of the Un e ,s or
pc tr th at
is 0 th large
I-T! Io work from "'
ALEXANDER CALDER CUTTING METAL, circa 1955. Unidentified photographer. Photographic
print: 1 item: B&W; 24 x 16 centimeters. Alexander Calder papers, 1926-1967. Courtesy of the
Archives of American Art, the Smithsonian Institution,
CALDER JEWELRY shows at the San Diego Museum of Art through January 3, 2010.
The Museum hosts the only West Coast viewing of the first exhibition devoted to
the jewelry created by the great Modernist sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976).
Organized as a collaboration between the Calder Foundation and the Norton
Museum of Art, Calder Jewelry brings together nearly one hundred works.
The San Diego Museum of Art is located at 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San
Diego, California, and can be contacted at 619.232,7931, The Museum's
website is www,sdmart.org.
Calder Jewelry accompanies the exhibition and has been edited by
Alexander S. C. Rower and Holton Rower, with photographs by Maria
Robledo and contributions by Mark Rosenthal and Jane Adlin. The book,
published by Yale University Press in 2007, contains 288 pages, 59 B&W and
197 Color illustrations.
BROOCH of brass wire, glass, mirror, steel wire; 24.13 x 14.92 x 2.85 centimeters,
circa 1938. For Jeanne BurJuel.
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HARPS AND HEART NECKLACE of brass wire' loop 101,60 centimeters length, elements 15.87 x 10,16 centimeters, circa 1937,
written by Andre Masson. It should be noted that for his wife,
some insistence for decorum and tradition remained;
Calder initially produced a gold wedding ring for Louisa
-despite her delight, she stated it was merely an "engagement
ring", and subsequently a wedding ring was purchased
from Waltham for two dollars.
In discussing the artist, it is important to chronicle the
relationships and friendships he forged, which seemed to have
provided a reverberative feedback which nourished both
Calder and his friends. French philosopher lean-Paul Sartre
was an avid Ian of Calder's work, and his descriptions and
interpretations would in turn inspire the artist himself, allowing
him to observe his own creations from a new perspective.
Peggy (Guggenheimn, that bombastious patron of the arts,
received many gifts and ordered several commissions from
the abundantly fruitful worker.
There are more than a few hints of influence from around
the globe in (alder's work, and some of his jewelry seems
to be almost directly reinterpreted from ethnic and ancient
themes. 'Ihese are not shallow facsimiles, but original variations
and combinations, taking essential thematic elements such
as spirals, which are present in a vast array of world cultures,
and implementing them and re-implementing them in
different manifestations and variations. Calder's animal
brooches evoke haunting similarities to precolombian and
African designs, but as if from a parallel evolution arriving
at the same result, rather than a replica. A thunderbird and
owl brooch seems like something excavated from an eccentric
Aztec tomb rather than a piece of twentieth-century jewelry.
It is these pieces, which are so evocative of ethnic creations
around the globe, which makes one wonder if Calder was
rediscovering, artistically, a cultural blueprint, an evolution
in both form and thought, which others a world away had
pioneered millennia before. Calder himself primarily traveled
to European countries, spending most of his time in Paris,
so his direct exposure to other ethnicities would have
been minimal. Of course, being a center of the arts, Paris held
a treasure trove of ethnographic work.
What ultimately makes Calder a treasure in his own right
is his demonstration of spontaneity, a lack of fear for
beginning all over again. Rather, he was the artistic equivalent
of an anthropological explorer, ceaselessly delving into
new pursuits and new interests in unfamiliar territory, and
successfully maintaining his endeavors in so many fields of
art. His jewelry, only one facet of his entire facade, is as much
an example of this spirit as his mobiles and sculptures. It is
good to remember that sometimes, one needs to take one's
self less seriously, and let fly off of that trapeze. K
NOTES
I. Prather, Maria. Alcxa(vder Calder: 1898 - 1976. National Gallery of Ari, 1998, p. 17.
2. Rower, Alexander S.C. Caider Iewielry. Yale University Press, 2007, p. 145.
3. -. Calder Jeweelir,. Yale University Press, 2007, 1.193.
4,5. Lipman, Jean. Caldet', Universe. The Viking Press, 176, p. 262.
SUGGESTED READING
Marchesseau, Daniel. The Intimatte World (a Alexandcr Calder. New York:
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989.
Lipman, Jean. Calder's Universc. New Yoirk: The Viking Press, 1976 .
Rower, Alexander S.C. C alder Jewelry. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2'07.
Prather, Maria. 1lexamder (Cald: 1898 19'70. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1998.
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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
TITLE: Alexander Calder: The Art of Perpetual Motion
SOURCE: Ornament 32 no5 2009
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