Levels 1962

Alexander Calder made this watercolour in 1962. It’s got these bands of primary colors – red, yellow, and blue – sitting neatly on the page. They are interspersed by a series of more faded white bands, and this regimented structure is interrupted by free-flowing black ink. I wonder what it was like for Calder to make this? Was it a controlled experiment, or a playful exploration of form and colour? Maybe he was thinking about his mobiles when he made this painting, and the way that gravity affects a hanging object. Look at how the black ink drips down the page like liquid lead! The little black blobs at the top of the composition make me think about a row of people standing in line. They are waiting patiently for something. Painters are always looking at each other’s work. Calder’s painting has some things in common with the paintings of Miró and Klee, but it has a lightness and elegance that is all his own.