Calder: Hypermobility
Activations and Performances
Daily Activations
Alexander Calder (1898–1976), Hour Glass, 1941. Painted steel, wire, rod, and weights, 60 x 22 1/8 x 17 5/8 in. (152.4 x 56.2 x 44.8 cm). The Lipman Family Foundation; long-term loan to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York T.1996.8. © 2017 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Brian Kelley, courtesy Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, New York.
Thanks to an unprecedented collaboration with the calder Foundation, this exhibition provides visitors with a rare opportunity to experience works as the artist intended—set in motion by motors or air currents and further animated by touch. Specially trained museum staff will activate four works at each time slot. These movements are at once surprising and subtle, inviting viewers to slow down and experience the works in real time. We are honoring the artist's intention for the motion of these pieces. As philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre remarked, “The movements of calder’s mobiles have a life of their own."
Monday–Thursday
12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm
Friday
11 am*, 12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm, 7:30 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm
Saturday and Sunday
11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm
*The motorized piece, Untitled, 1938, will be activated for 10 minutes.
All daily activations will take place on Floor 8, in the Hurst Family Galleries.
Performing the Work
Alexander Calder, Untitled, ca. 1932. Wood, rod, wire, and paint, 58" x 146" x 6" (147.3 x 370.8 x 15.2 cm). Calder Foundation, New York 2017 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photography by Tom Powel
Additional rarely seen works will be brought to the museum for one-time activations led by Alexander S. C. Rower, the president of the calder Foundation and grandson of the artist. These events will take place in both the gallery and theater.
June 21, 2 pm
Floor 8, Hurst Family Galleries
Object with Red Ball
June 28, 2 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Boomerangs, 1941
July 9, 4 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Tightrope
July 12, 2 pm
Floor 8, Hurst Family Galleries
Goldfish Bowl
July 20, 1 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere, 1932/33
July 26, 1 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Franji Pani, 1955
August 23, 1 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Untitled, ca. 1932
August 30, 1 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Cône d’ébène, 1933
September 13, 1 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Untitled, c. 1934
September 18, 1 pm
Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Theater
Scarlet Digitals, 1945
Due to high demand, these events will be ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis. Please visit the admissions desk in the lobby to request a free ticket.
Artist Projects
Alexander Calder (1898–1976), Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere, 1932/33. Iron, wood, cord, thread, rod, paint, and impedimenta, 317.5 cm h.; dimensions variable. Calder Foundation, New York; Mary Calder Rower Bequest, 2011. © 2017 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson.
This exhibition features an expansive series of performances and events, bringing contemporary artists into dialogue with calder as they interplay their own disparate practices with his innovations.
July 19–23
Three-night performance of calder’s Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere, 1932/33 by Christian Marclay with cellist Okkyung Lee (July 19-21) and daily activations of the work by Museum staff
August 5–6
JACK Quartet performs within the exhibition and in the Susan and John Hess Family Theater
September 9
As part of the Myth Astray event series, Arto Lindsay performs with instruments made by Alexander calder during his time in Brazil
September 28
1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, 5 pm
Jill Magid: Awaiting Alexander calder
September 30–October 1
Math Bass and Lauren Davis Fisher perform Quiet Work in Session
October 6
C. Spencer Yeh: Two Workaround Works Around calder
October 7
A screening of films commissioned by the calder Foundation by artists Ephraim Asili, Rosa Barba, Lucy Raven, and Agnès Varda, followed by a conversation moderated by Victoria Brooks
October 13–15
Abigail DeVille with director Charlotte Brathwaite, debuts new work, entitled Empire State Works in Progress, 2017
October 21–22
Nora Schultz
