Alexander Calder’s Mobiles: August Collection Highlight

High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art
Published in
1 min readAug 18, 2021

Listen as the High’s Curator of European Art discusses Calder’s creation of the mobile—a radical, modern art form.

Video by Ashley Wills

In the early 1900s, Calder’s mobiles provided a dynamic, new experience of sculpture that incorporated movement, activating their architectural settings and inviting viewers’ engagement. French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, once wrote that a Calder mobile is a “pure stream of movement in the same way as there are pure streams of light.”

In the video above, the High’s Frances B. Bunzl Family Curator of European Art, Claudia Einecke, talks about this amazing work of art and gives a peek into its fascinating history.

Mobile with black and red shapes by Alexander Calder hanging in a somewhat vertical orientation.
In front of a Calder mobile installed in a white-walled gallery, a woman’s hands hold out a sepia-toned photograph of the same mobile installed in an apartment in the past.
Alexander Calder (American, 1898–1976), Untitled, 1947. At right, the mobile is seen installed in a private apartment in New York City.

See Untitled along with other stunning examples of Calder’s mobiles in Picasso-Calder, on view through September 26.

This work is one of over 18,000 in our rotating collection. They’re all here for you!

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High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art

The High is Atlanta’s art museum, bringing creativity to your everyday. Our collections, exhibitions, and programs are always here for you.