Calder: at home, among friends is dedicated to the intimate objects Alexander Calder made throughout his life, mostly as gifts for friends and family. The selection is limited to works from the San José Museum of Art’s collection, itself a small sampling of his output (he made over 2,000 pieces of jewelry alone during his lifetime), but the museum’s holdings have an interesting provenance. From 1975 to 1983, the artist’s niece Janet Gray Hayes was the mayor of San José. The majority of the objects presented come from Hayes’ foundation and personal collection, now donated to the museum.
Calder’s iconic mobiles have always seemed tasteful, but ultimately decorative to me. I usually saw them as perfunctory obstacles in museum lobbies, something I would rush past on my way to the main event. But after reading of a studio visit that the painter William Copely did with Calder in Connecticut, I decided I owed the artist another chance. Copley described Calder’s converted barn studio as a mad scientist’s lair. The sculptures we’re so used to seeing stationary over plinths in white-walled rooms were originally twisting and spinning in the open-air breeze. Imagining the mobiles in motion, and in such dense proximity, piqued my curiosity.
The exhibit in San José houses a fine assortment of objects, including a twisted wire baby rattle and a spiral belt buckle, the detailing on which recalls Ionic Greek columns. Wall text explains that a pair of pliers changed young Calder’s life. He never traveled without a spool of wire and pliers on hand.
Whenever a household item broke or was in need of repair Calder capitalized on the opportunity to customize the article in his own style. A small pair of scissors were amended with Calder-ized brass wire handles. A clock was reduced to just a primary red minute hand fashioned over two black-painted sheet metal mountainous peaks.
At the museum, what struck me most about the wire works was the heft of the material. The wire is thick, manipulating it would have taken considerable effort. There is a reassuring calm that comes with seeing these whimsical objects fashioned from the stuff. They have a presence in the room. They look heavy, like the hand-feel would be amazing.
