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MASTERPIECE MONDAY - MEET THE ARTIST

Alexander Calder was an important American artist. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1898 and died in 1976. His grandfather and father were both well known sculptors, and they encouraged him to explore and create art from a very early age. He is best known for his kinetic (or moving) sculptures and was the inventor of the modern mobile!

SCIENCE FUN

The art form Calder was most famous for were his mobiles. Watch this VIDEO to see the science and math needed to create one of these beautiful pieces of art.

Make a balancing toy and explore the concept of “Center of Mass”. You can watch a video of the activity HERE and then follow these INSTRUCTIONS to create your own.

WATCH + LEARN

CREATE

Calder created many different kinds of art throughout his career. He painted, created wire sculptures and even made very, very large metal sculptures to be displayed outside! You can create your own Calder inspired art with the projects below.  

*Note:  some projects call for wire; pipe cleaners can be substituted in most cases.

TABLE TOP STABILE

CALDER INSPIRED SCULPTURE

WIRE PORTRAITS

MAKE A MOBILE 

TAKE A TOUR

Take a video tour of the Calder “PERFORMING SCULPTURE”  exhibit at the Tate Modern in London.

You can visit the CALDER FOUNDATION website and see photos of all of Calder’s works.

GET MOVING

So much of Calder’s art is about movement and balance.  It’s fun to find ways to balance our bodies, too! Try these activities.

 Make this easy BALANCE BOARD.

MOVE and SING along with this fun song about hopping on one foot!