Happy Birthday, Alexander Calder

July 22, 2008 11:29 PM | Related Categories: artists

Today, July 22nd, is Alexander Calder's anniversary. I've mentioned him a few times while blogging, and it was pure coincidence that I discovered this morning that today is his birth date. I've come across his sculptures several times recently in Venice, Stuttgart and here in Zürich.

Stuttgart, Königstrasse

You can see the shadow of it in Google Maps

I didn't realise that he was a third generation sculptor and that his great grandfather started it all from Aberdeen, a place that has strong connections for me.

Outside Kunsthaus, Zürich

As usual, Wikipedia provides a useful starting place for references. His antecedents names are full of Scottish resonances

Alexander Milne Calder (grandfather)

Alexander Stirling Calder (father)

This all sounds a bit like "Here's tae us, whae's like us" but when you live as an expatriate it's easy to grasp at these connections

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Pleasing installations witht he weather to go with the presentation.

Interesting little musing on the "expat" psyche. What is it that makes "tribe and clan" so dominant? We can be as "open minded" as it is possible to be, yet there in the background lurks that instinct to hold fast to what is "us and not them". The crossover to join a new tribe would be, for me at any rate, extremely hard.
# Posted By Chuckeroon | 7/25/08 1:28 PM
Hi Chucker

I'd like to think that it is what gives us our identity, rather than what makes us different or indeed makes others different. We can still hold on to that without resorting to nationalism - at least I hope so
# Posted By richard | 7/27/08 12:34 AM
Ah, just picked this up....For me it's very often about revelling in the difference in the nicest sort of way. Being in it and rolling around in it and enjoying it, but being able to wash it off afterwards. Recently reading a lot about India and the Raj and how some British went overboard and embraced it and others found it impossible. Interesting that a number of the 18th C "big cheeses" in the East India Co embraced it and gave strong (ignored) advice about treading softly, but in the 1850's things started to change..................and so on, blah
# Posted By Chuckeroon | 9/23/08 10:21 PM
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