Art@Site www.artatsite.com Alexander Calder Araignee Rouge
Artist:

Alexander Calder

Title:

Araignee Rouge

Year:
1976
Adress:
Esplanade, La Defense
Website:
A spin who won’t make you afraid
Red Spider by Alexander Calder consists of two parts: three curved lines and three closed forms who. These parts are both red and big.
The three curved lines are standing straight on the ground, at first they bend slowly but then they suddenly bend in a small radius. These forms resemble high legs. The lines are clearly arranged next to each other and rely on each other. The lines are broad and appear like constructions because of their reinforcements. The lines have a sympathetic and organic character.
The three closed forms are somewhat rectangular, are smaller than the lines and form a solid volume. It takes a while before you understand how they are arranged. They have also constructive reinforcements. The planes have sharp edges and have pointed tips. The forms evoke an uncomfortable atmosphere.
The sculpture stand out because of the red color and the large size. The red color, the curved lines and sharp angles contrasts with the surrounding buildings. The use of a steel structure is a bit strange for a artwork. This steel fits well with the utilitarian character (because of the use of concrete and glass) of the adjacent buildings.
A title like ' Red Spider ' suggests stronger emotions than the curved legs and the forms that evoke an uncomfortable atmosphere.
This arwork by Alexander Calder would suit in any environment. It is possible to communicate more-saying meaning by coöperating or contrasting with the environment.
By Theo, www.artatsite.com

Een spin waarvoor je niet bang hoeft te zijn
Red Spider van Alexander Calder bestaat uit twee delen: drie gebogen lijnen en drie gesloten vormen. Deze delen zijn beiden rood en groot.
De drie gebogen lijnen staan recht op de grond, buigen eerst langzaam maar buigen dan ineens in een kleine bocht. Deze vormen lijken op hoge poten. De lijnen staan overzichtelijk naast elkaar staan en steunen op elkaar af. De lijnen zijn breed en lijken op constructies door hun verstevigingen. De lijnen hebben een sympathiek en organisch karakter. De drie gesloten vormen zijn enigszins rechthoekig, zijn lager dan de lijnen en vormen tezamen een stevig volume. Het duurt even voordat je begrijpt hoe de vormen tegenover elkaar staan. Ook hier zijn constructieve verstevigingen. De vlakken hebben scherpe randen en hebben spitse uiteinden. De vlakken roepen een ongemakkelijke sfeer op.
De rode kleur en de grote afmetingen maakt dat de sculptuur opvalt. De rode kleur, de gebogen lijnen en de scherpe hoeken contrasteren met de omringende strakke gebouwen. Het gebruik van een staalconstructie is een beetje vreemd voor een kunstwerk. Daar staat tegenover dat het staal weer goed past bij het utilitaire karakter (vanwege het beton en glas) van de aangrenzende gebouwen.
Een titel als ‘Red Spider’ suggereert sterkere emoties dan de gebogen poten en de vlakken die een ongemakkelijke sfeer oproepen.
Dit kunstwerk van Alexander Calder zou in elke omgeving kunnen staan. Het is mogelijk om meer-zeggende betekenissen te communiceren door duidelijker te samen te werken of te contrasteren met de omgeving.
By Theo, www.artatsite.com

www.wikipedia.org:
L'Araignee Rouge, egalement appelee Le Grand Stabile Rouge, est une oeuvre d'art du sculpteur americain Alexander Calder. C'est l'une des oeuvres d'art de la Defense, en France.
Cette sculpture monumentale (stabile selon les termes de son auteur, par opposition a ses mobiles) a ete erigee en 1976 (l'annee de la mort de Calder) sur la place de la Defense, devant l'immeuble Place Defense. Mesurant 15 metres de haut pour 75 tonnes, elle est faite d'acier peint en rouge.

www.ladefense.fr:
Cette imposante sculpture (stabile selon les termes de son auteur, par opposition a ses playmobiles) en acier pese 75 tonnes pour une hauteur de 15 metres. Elle evoque une celebre oeuvre du meme artiste, « l'Araignee », situee a Chicago.
Installee en 1976, l'annee de la mort de l'artiste, qui en choisit lui-meme l'emplacement sur la place de La Defense ; elle resonne desormais comme un puissant hommage a son genial createur.
a la fois sculpteur et peintre, ne a Philadelphie en 1898, Alexander Calder sest longtemps passionne pour le theme du cirque jusqu’a sen inspirer pour une performance devenue celebre : le cirque Calder.
Il avait le genie de transformer une tole en oeuvre d’art et une boîte de conserve en oiseau. Il a su faire le lien entre le surrealisme, l'art abstrait et certaines recherches les plus modernes pour lequel il fit figure d’avant-gardiste.

Translation
www.wikipedia.org:
Red Spider, also known as The Great Red Stabile, is a work of art of the American sculptor Alexander Calder . This is one of the defense works of art in France.
This monumental sculpture ( stabile in the words of its author, as opposed to its mobile ) was erected in 1976 ( the year of the death of Calder) on the square of Defense, Defense Place outside the building . Measuring 15 meters high and 75 tons, it is made of steel painted red.

www.ladefense.fr:
This imposing sculpture ( stabile in the words of its author, as opposed to its playmobiles ) steel weighs 75 tons and a height of 15 meters. It evokes a famous work of the same artist, " Spider", located in Chicago.
Established in 1976, the year of the death of the artist, who himself chose the location on the Place de La Defense ; it now sounds like a powerful tribute to his creative genius.
Both sculptor and painter, born in Philadelphia in 1898, Alexander Calder has long been fascinated by the circus theme to be inspired to become a famous performance : the Calder circus.
He had a genius for transforming a sheet of work of art and a bird can. He was able to link surrealism, abstract art and some of the latest research for which he was an avant -garde.

www.artsology.com:
Calder's sculptural work can be broken down into two categories: "mobiles" and "stabiles." Mobiles are sculptures that utilize balance and movement, and have also been called "kinetic art." A mobile usually has a number of objects that hang from a single string, and the artist has arranged them so that their weights balance each other based on how they are positioned.
Araignee Rouge, however, is considered a "stabile." It's stable and stationary, so it's the opposite of something that is mobile and moving. Calder explained the difference between stabiles and mobiles this way: "You have to walk around a stabile or through it - a mobile dances in front of you."
By making a large sculpture, Calder is presenting the viewer with an object that cannot be viewed in just one way. Unlike viewing a painting on the wall, where one stands in front of it to view it, the stabiles forces the viewer to assess the sculpture from multiple vantage points. The sculpture appears one way when viewed from 20 feet away, it appears different when viewed from 5 feet away, different again when underneath it, different again when viewing from the other side.

H.W. Janson, Anthony Janson (2004):
One important development which Surrealism produced in the early 1930s were the mobile sculptures of the American Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976).
Called mobiles for short, they are delicately balanced constructions of metal wire, hinged together and weighted so as to move with the slightest breath of air.
Unpredictable and ever-changing, such mobiles incorporate the fourth dimension as an essential element.
Kinetic sculpture had been conceived first by the Constructivists. Their influence is evident in Calder’s earliest mobiles, which were motor-driven and tended toward abstract geometric forms.
Calder was also affected early on by Mondrian, whose use of primary colors he adopted. Like Mondrian, he initially thought of his constructions as self-contained miniature universes.
But it was his contact with Surrealism that made him realize the poetic possibilities of 'natural' rather than fully controlled movement. He borrowed biomorphic shapes from Miró and began to conceive of mobiles as counterparts to organic structures: flowers on flexible stems, foliage quivering in the breeze, marine animals floating in the sea. Infinitely responsive to their enironment, they seem amazingly alive.