lexander Calder says so, and so it is.... red. Flamingo.
It's not a typo, it's Calder, once again exhibiting his wonderful sense of humor, this time in a modernist plaza in Chicago. Not just any plaza, the Federal Center Plaza at Dearborn and Adams Streets, surrounded by International Modern architecture by Mies van der Rohe. A stately home for such a bird.
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Federal Center Plaza at Dearborn and Adams Streets
| "Sort of pink and has a long neck", Calder remarked of Flamingo, as he called it. |
| Flamingo is a huge stabile provided by the U.S. General Services Administration's Art in Architecture program.
Mies' International Modern offices tower above Federal Plaza. |
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Typical of his works after 1953, this sculpture is not only monumental in statement but also in size, a whopping 53-feet tall covering a ground area of 24 x 60 feet... made of 3/4 inch-thick steel, and it's surprisingly not even sort of pink.. it's undeniably, indisputably red. Was Calder colorblind? Hardly, it's just his humor shining through. This huge bird is one of many artforms from Calder's long and prolific career in the creation of delightful art including mobiles, sculpture, paintings, drawings, and jewelry over an 87-year period.
Maquette of Flamingo. Click to see a larger view.
| For many of his larger stabiles, Calder first made a small maquette (scale model) versions, sometimes two in different sizes, but far smaller than the end result. He created such maquettes as design proposals and to study the design and wind tolerance for stability.
The maquette for this sculpture is on display just a few feet away, in the window of Mies' Post Office building on the plaza.
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Chicago is the lucky home of another Calder also, a "moving mural" in the lobby of the Sears Tower. The 55-by-33 foot structure is made of steel and aluminum and has seven independently moving parts.
Calder was a creative artist who explored the aesthetic possibilities of various untraditional materials: sheet metal, steel, air. Yes, air. As with his mobiles, "Flamingo" is also an air sculpture, floating in the sky, with space to walk and play under it. Calder's art brought to the art world a new type of art based on the ideas of open space and transparency. While actually very heavy, Flamingo seems very light.
If it's a Calder, it's fun, even if it's not pink.
Click any of the above images for a larger view.
Photo credits: Joe Kunkel.
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