I may have mentioned before that was involved in dance classes for pretty much all of my childhood & teen years. Actually an injury is what shifted my attention to painting & art. So, I honed my musical ear towards more instrumental music before my artistic shift. I appreciated experimental music & collaboration from a really early age because of my dance background I think.
I love to learn about artists & the connections that they have with one another. Coincidentally or maybe not- I often tend to like the work of artists who are friends & in different disciplines. I found out about John Cage (musician/composer), Merce Cunningham (dancer/choreographer) & Robert Rauschenberg (fine artist/painter/sculptor) at the same time oddly enough- in college while I was an art major. I was really enamored with the school they all went to called Black Mountain College & dreamed of going to a place where all disciplines were combined. These three guys became favorite artists of mine not only for their work, but for their personalities & attitude about creating.
On my lunch break research tangent, I looked up John Cage because of theNPR tiny desk concert today& stumbled on this little gem. I didn’t realize that he composed music for the film, “Works by Calder”.Alexander Calder is one of my favorite artists as well & one of the reasons I started making mobiles 6 years ago. I felt it was appropriate that when I was packing & shipping mobiles today, I should be listening to this. Happy Music Monday!
When I learn about famous artists who made toys on the side for their children, I’m intrigued. I was delighted when a friend sent me the link to these great photos of painter, Paul Klee, with his puppets. He apparently made these for his son. Of course, there is a great book that is now on my wish list called Paul Klee: Hand Puppets.
Being that I studied painting in college & graduate school, Paul Klee was already a favorite artist of mine. But now he has jumped up on the list after I saw these photos. You know how I love puppets too. He is now up there with Alexander Calder (who also made toys for his children). Thanks for passing this on D!
When I learn about famous artists who made toys on the side for their children, I’m intrigued. I was delighted when a friend sent me the link to these great photos of painter, Paul Klee, with his puppets. He apparently made these for his son. Of course, there is a great book that is now on my wish list called Paul Klee: Hand Puppets.
Being that I studied painting in college & graduate school, Paul Klee was already a favorite artist of mine. But now he has jumped up on the list after I saw these photos. You know how I love puppets too. He is now up there with Alexander Calder (who also made toys for his children). Thanks for passing this on D!
One of my all time favorite artists is Alexander Calder. While he was probably best known for his mobile sculptures (he coined the word “mobile”), he also had a lifetime love of the circus. One of his early jobs as an illustrator for the National Police Gazette, sent him to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to sketch circus scenes for 2 weeks in 1925. Later when he moved to Paris (1926) he created “Cirque Calder”. All the pieces were small enough to be packed in a small trunk which allowed him to take it with him places and have impromptu circus performances. They usually lasted for about 2 hours and were very elaborate. Every now and then I like to watch this video & thumb through my Calder books for inspiration. I thought today would be a good day for an impromptu circus performance here (only 5minutes rather than 2 hours). Hope you enjoyed it!
One of my all time favorite artists is Alexander Calder. While he was probably best known for his mobile sculptures (he coined the word “mobile”), he also had a lifetime love of the circus. One of his early jobs as an illustrator for the National Police Gazette, sent him to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to sketch circus scenes for 2 weeks in 1925. Later when he moved to Paris (1926) he created “Cirque Calder”. All the pieces were small enough to be packed in a small trunk which allowed him to take it with him places and have impromptu circus performances. They usually lasted for about 2 hours and were very elaborate. Every now and then I like to watch this video & thumb through my Calder books for inspiration. I thought today would be a good day for an impromptu circus performance here (only 5minutes rather than 2 hours). Hope you enjoyed it!
One of my all time favorite artists is Alexander Calder. While he was probably best known for his mobile sculptures (he coined the word “mobile”), he also had a lifetime love of the circus. One of his early jobs as an illustrator for the National Police Gazette, sent him to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to sketch circus scenes for 2 weeks in 1925. Later when he moved to Paris (1926) he created “Cirque Calder”. All the pieces were small enough to be packed in a small trunk which allowed him to take it with him places and have impromptu circus performances. They usually lasted for about 2 hours and were very elaborate. Every now and then I like to watch this video & thumb through my Calder books for inspiration. I thought today would be a good day for an impromptu circus performance here (only 5minutes rather than 2 hours). Hope you enjoyed it!