ART MASTERPIECE: Elephant, 1927 by Alexander “Sandy” Calder

Pronunciation: ALEX-ander COL-derKeywords: Sculpture, three dimensional (3-D), form, line and space Sculpture - carving, model or other three-dimensional piece of art. Three-Dimensional (3-D) - artwork that can be measured three ways, height, width and depth. Form – an element of art; the three dimensional structure of an object. Line – an element of art; a continuous path of a point as it moves across a surface. A line can vary in length, width, direction, curvature or color. Space - an empty place (negative) or area in which something exists (positive)Grade: 4th gradeProject: Wire SculpturePowerpoint: KGA websiteVideo: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovC9_LDnK1o (4:15 min)Website: www.calder.org

Meet the Artist (5 min):• Alexander Calder was born in 1898, in Lawnton, Pennsylvania. His father was a sculptor and

his mother a painter.• His friends called him Sandy.• For Christmas in 1909, Calder presented his parents with two of his first sculptures, a tiny

dog and duck cut from a brass sheet and bent into formation. The duck is kinetic, it rocks back and forth when tapped. Even at age eleven, his facility in handling materials was apparent.

• Despite his talents, Calder did not set out to become an artist. He excelled in math, graduated college with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked various jobs. He was

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inspired to become an artist after viewing several moving sceneries at sea and in the mountains, so enrolled in art classes in New York and then moved to Paris, France.

• In Paris in the early 1930s, he met many artists, including Piet Mondrian. During a visit to Mondrian’s studio, Calder was impressed by the walls of the room, which were decorated with paper rectangles of primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), and suggested that "perhaps it would be fun to make these rectangles oscillate." Mondrian never pursued the idea, but Calder used it to invent his mobiles. After experimenting with motors and hand cranks, he discovered that he preferred the less-predictable bouncing and swaying caused by air currents. This was a significant turning point in Calder's artistic career. He created the first truly kinetic sculpture and gave form to an entirely new type of art.

• The first of these objects that moved were dubbed ‘mobiles’ by artist Marcel Duchamp, and artist Jean Arp named Calder's stationary objects ‘stabiles’.

• In 1933, Calder purchased an old farmhouse in Roxbury, Connecticut with his wife. He converted an icehouse attached to the main house into a studio for himself.

• His mobiles are the American sculpture most admired all over the world.• Calder died at the age of seventy-eight, ending one of the most prolific and innovative

artistic careers of the twentieth century.

Discussion (10 min):• Does this look like an elephant?• Does this sculpture look finished? What if it didn’t have a wooden base? (It wouldn’t be as

important)• What makes it interesting? (the curves on the trunk)• Do you see how the space is used? (the wire is a line of positive space and the space

between, negative)• Do you like it? Why or why not?• Could you make a similar type of sculpture using other materials? What could you use?

Project: Wire Sculpture

Project Materials: Colored Twisteez wire (24 gauge), 2 lengths of 30” per student 4”x4” squares of black mat board for base (or poster board glued to cardboard - for strength) Low temp glue guns, glue sticks and gloves Extension cord with multi openings Scissors, class set Parent Letters, 1 per student

Advance Preparation: Copy and cut Parent Letters Cut black mat board (or poster board and cardboard), both into 4”x4” squares

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Mini Lesson (5 min): Show the students how the wires can easily be bent, twisted round and round, curled around a pencil, or even left straight. They may cut the wires if needed. Make sure that they know that this creation will need several parts of the wire bent flat enough to be glued to the base. A quick foot for an animal can even just be a simple loop, glued to the base. GLUE GUNS SHOULD BE USED BY ADULTS ONLY!!!

Process (30-40 min):• Hand out 2 pieces of wire, 30” each and scissors.• Hand out black mat board (OR poster board and cardboard, glued together)• Encourage them to make a recognizable object like Calder; a cow, leopard, elephant, horse,

bird, fish or even a car, plane, bike, robot, umbrella, etc. They may even want to try making a face of a person (a portrait). They can look at their neighbor for inspiration.

• The object needs to be vertical, rising up from the base.• Discourage them from cutting the wires, unless they need small pieces for a tail, mane or

other add ons.• Several parts of the wire will need to be bent flat enough so that they can be glued to the

base. • GLUE GUNS SHOULD BE USED BY ADULTS ONLY!!! • The sculpture may be glued as they create, to anchor, or once they’re all done.• Have them sign their name to the Parent Letter and glue to the underside of the base.

Clean up: Make sure glue guns have cooled before they are put away. Collect all supplies.

Property of Knox Art Masterpiece Revised July 31, 2013