Calder's Mobiles, On the Small Scale

Alexander Calder had said , "To most people who look at a mobile, it's no more than a series of flat objects that move. To a few, though, it may be poetry." Calder has been my favorite artist ever since I was a kid and saw one of his mobiles hanging in a bank building. (Useless trivia: His first ever studio was in Pasadena, and the Rose Bowl Parade allegedly inspired his circus sculptures.) But to own one his pieces, I feel that you have to be 1) a millionaire and 2) have high ceilings.

After doing some digging, I found some so-so tutorials ("How to make your own Calder mobile with popsicle sticks!"), and then: smaller-scaled replicas of Calder's most iconic pieces made by Mod Mobiles for a fraction of the original price (original price being in the double-digit thousands and up).

These "mini" versions (they measure around 60" wide and about 30" tall depending on which design you want) are available at The Abstract Home.

Comments (10)

I made one in an afternoon with dowel rods, round wooded knobs, and fishing line. It takes patience, but you just start at the bottom and work your way up, balancing it as you go!

A number of years ago there was a Calder exhibit making the rounds and I went to its stop at the National Gallery in DC about six times with six different sets of people. The frustrating thing about the exhibit was that the galleries were relatively windless so many of the mobiles were immobile. I brought my parents to see the exhibit one afternoon and my mother, after we were reprimanded by the guard for blowing lightly in the direction of one piece, turned to the guard and said, "you just don't get it"

I love my family.

After that, we stuck with walking by things quickly enough to generate that breeze.

Calder's mobiles and his little machines are so wonderful and fun. My favorite part is watching the moving shadows on the walls and floor. Like being in a shoal of fish.

Sciencegeek, that is a bummer that someone reprimanded you for blowing on a Calder piece! I feel like the genius of his work goes beyond the balance precision--the movement is sublime. I went to one of his exhibits a few years ago and I remember staring up at one of the gigantic mobiles...it reminded me of being a kid and lying in the backyard watching clouds slowly roll by.

I got one of the mini-mobiles after I did this post, and it's in my living room. Now that the weather's turned cooler, I keep my windows open to let a breeze through. I love it.

My grandfather used to make Calder-esque mobiles with heavy wire, black thread and doubled origami paper. They would change from season to season but my favorite was one that was hung with paper hearts that he made for my grandmother.

Generally paper hearts are incredibly cliche and look cutesy, but he managed to hang them well so you didn't think of it as Hallmark ugly.

I have a mobile hanging in a doorway in my apartment. Maybe it is time to make my own as well.

There are a few people on Etsy who make mobiles like these, Puka Puka whose mobiles remind me of Matisse crossed with Calder, and Alexander Mobiles which are definitely descended from Mr. Calder's creations. I think that mobiles like this are both good for home and for work.

Flensted also makes some really nice mobiles that are popular in Europe.

I went to http://modmobiles.com/ and noticed that the picture at the top of this thread is one of theirs, not an original Calder but an exact replica made by Mod Mobiles. They had some beautiful pieces, some were "Calderesc", some were totally original.

I've been looking for a real metal mobile forever, and I've only found paper and plastic before. I just ordered a black one for my loft, can't wait to get it. Now I just need a Le Corbusier chair to go underneath.

Got my gorgeous black mobile 2 years ago and forgot to mention it. http://modmobiles.com/ did a great job, highly recommended!

Check out Mobiles by Julie Frith, she has a large variety of mobile designs, very Calder like... www.frithmobiles.com ... modern art perfect for the nursery.

Hi, i'm Alex Palenski, I've been creating 'Calderesc' mobiles for 3 years now and i've just lauched my web site
http://alex-palenski-mobiles.blogspot.com/
Check it out! My mobiles are 100% metal and unique (i don't do series). My studio is in Paris, France but shipping can easily be organized.
Feel free to contact me for further information.