"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
Pablo Picasso (artist)
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As a child, American sculptor Alexander Calder could never find the perfect toys. So he rolled up his sleeves and started making them himself, transforming copper wire and random objects into customized playthings.
Little did he know, he’d be hooked on his hobby for life.
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Photograph of Alexander Calder.
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As a young man living in Paris in the 1920s, Calder continued concocting his own creations. When a friend pointed out that toymakers could earn decent money, the struggling Calder decided to turn his passion into his profession.
Although he never penetrated the toy market, Calder’s venture proved to be lucrative all the same. His sculptures won the admiration of the sophisticated Parisian art scene—they called him the "King of Wire"—and launched his career as an artist.
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Alexander Calder, "Nude Woman", around 1929, iron thread on pedestal, 28.35 x 14.96 x 12.4 in., Centre Pompidou, Paris. © Calder Foundation New-York / ADAGP, Paris 2016.
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His contemporaries went particularly wild for his interactive sculpture, Calder’s Circus. Using wood, wire and just about everything else, Calder created a miniature stage and an accompanying cast that he manipulated through a network of cotton threads.
The circus had every act you could imagine: clowns, acrobats, elephants, a lion tamer, even a Knife Thrower and his Favorite Assistant. When the latter would inevitably get injured, a team of miniature medics came to carry her off stage. The replacement, Second Favorite Assistant, would arrive to take her place. As they say, the show must go on!
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Alexander Calder, "Calder’s Circus", 1926–31, wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, 54 × 94.25 × 94.25 in., overall, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. © Calder Foundation New-York / ADAGP, Paris 2016.
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Calder’s Circus wasn’t all fun and games. The work was very influential to modern performance art, and the idea to combine sculpture with motion inspired Calder to create his celebrated mobiles, which sway and rotate in the wind.
Throughout his career, Calder stayed true to his childhood inspiration. "Above all," he said, "art should be fun."
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Alexander Calder, "Big Red", 1959, sheet metal and steel wire, 74 × 114 in., Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. © Calder Foundation New-York / ADAGP, Paris 2016.
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 Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
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Pablo Picasso (artist) 
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"Circus", performed by Alexander Calder. Whitney Museum, accessed on 19 September, 2016. © Calder Foundation New-York / ADAGP, Paris 2016.
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Who painted this painting?
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Contact Co-Founders Coline and Jean at hello@artips.co.
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