A large fish stands on two legs, the vibrant colors luring onlookers in, while standing as a
massive structure. Alexander Calder’s stabiles have become extremely famous for their
simplicity and hidden beauty. Calder’s work inspired a new movement of hanging wire
sculptures and gargantuan firmly planted structures, each seemingly abstract, but with a true
inspiration.
Alexander Calder was born into a family of artists, with his mother, father and
grandfather famous artists. When he was growing up, he created jewelry out of wire for his
sister. This was his first look into sculptures. He wanted to become a mechanical engineer, so he
studied at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He then moved to Paris after becoming fascinated
with …show more content…
The tail of the fish is composed of red wire. Calder created the tail by first bending wire to
an arrowhead shape and putting the tip against the body. Then, from the top and bottom of the
arrowhead, directly down the middle, Calder put a piece of red wire. Then, from the bottom
corners of the tail, he strung red wire to the middle piece of wire. This created a look of
geometric symmetry.
The Finny Fish is an example of a combination of a mobile and a stabile. A mobile is a
delicate, finely balanced work of art that hangs freely and moves with the wind. A stabile is a
massive sculpture that is rooted to the ground. The Finny Fish has elements of both of those
types of art. The mobile aspect arises from the wire net with metal ornaments. These ornaments
will move in the wind. However, most of The Finny Fish is composed of elements from a stabile.
It is firmly on the ground, because the two legs support it. Also, it a massive structure, so it
meets the requirements of a stabile.
The Finny Fish inspires artists to carefully examine the construction and quality of the
structure. The legs of the fish end with metal pieces that look remarkably like hands. Calder was
trying to resemble the hands of humans with this particular element. Also, Calder …show more content…
The duller pieces are mainly a light orange-brown, which signifies a fish’s
ability to camouflage. Also, the shapes of the metal pieces vary, so they are never boring to look
at. Calder uses both pointy shards and rounded edges to show the differences in the painted metal
Alexander Calder also uses color to signify points of interest in The Finny Fish. The use
of yellow and red show off the vibrancy of fish in real life. Calder also used blue scraps of metal,
which are a contrast to the yellow and red. By using these blue shards, the fish looks like it was
made with only the primary colors. However, the use of black and silver in the legs, eyes, and
body of the fish show Calder’s ability to change the colors he used, and provide more depth to
the sculpture.
The use of the legs in this work reflect on Alexander Calder’s previous engineering
experience. The two small legs are able to support the weight of a massive wire figure, and small
scraps of metal. Also, Calder’s engineering ability are showed off in his mobiles, because the
task of perfectly balancing these structures is no easy feat. Next, Calder again used his
engineering skills when designing the wire sheet across the body of The Finny Fish. This was
massive structure. Alexander Calder’s stabiles have become extremely famous for their
simplicity and hidden beauty. Calder’s work inspired a new movement of hanging wire
sculptures and gargantuan firmly planted structures, each seemingly abstract, but with a true
inspiration.
Alexander Calder was born into a family of artists, with his mother, father and
grandfather famous artists. When he was growing up, he created jewelry out of wire for his
sister. This was his first look into sculptures. He wanted to become a mechanical engineer, so he
studied at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He then moved to Paris after becoming fascinated
with …show more content…
The tail of the fish is composed of red wire. Calder created the tail by first bending wire to
an arrowhead shape and putting the tip against the body. Then, from the top and bottom of the
arrowhead, directly down the middle, Calder put a piece of red wire. Then, from the bottom
corners of the tail, he strung red wire to the middle piece of wire. This created a look of
geometric symmetry.
The Finny Fish is an example of a combination of a mobile and a stabile. A mobile is a
delicate, finely balanced work of art that hangs freely and moves with the wind. A stabile is a
massive sculpture that is rooted to the ground. The Finny Fish has elements of both of those
types of art. The mobile aspect arises from the wire net with metal ornaments. These ornaments
will move in the wind. However, most of The Finny Fish is composed of elements from a stabile.
It is firmly on the ground, because the two legs support it. Also, it a massive structure, so it
meets the requirements of a stabile.
The Finny Fish inspires artists to carefully examine the construction and quality of the
structure. The legs of the fish end with metal pieces that look remarkably like hands. Calder was
trying to resemble the hands of humans with this particular element. Also, Calder …show more content…
The duller pieces are mainly a light orange-brown, which signifies a fish’s
ability to camouflage. Also, the shapes of the metal pieces vary, so they are never boring to look
at. Calder uses both pointy shards and rounded edges to show the differences in the painted metal
Alexander Calder also uses color to signify points of interest in The Finny Fish. The use
of yellow and red show off the vibrancy of fish in real life. Calder also used blue scraps of metal,
which are a contrast to the yellow and red. By using these blue shards, the fish looks like it was
made with only the primary colors. However, the use of black and silver in the legs, eyes, and
body of the fish show Calder’s ability to change the colors he used, and provide more depth to
the sculpture.
The use of the legs in this work reflect on Alexander Calder’s previous engineering
experience. The two small legs are able to support the weight of a massive wire figure, and small
scraps of metal. Also, Calder’s engineering ability are showed off in his mobiles, because the
task of perfectly balancing these structures is no easy feat. Next, Calder again used his
engineering skills when designing the wire sheet across the body of The Finny Fish. This was