Black Anatomy 1968

Here's this thing Alexander Calder made called Black Anatomy. It's like Calder dove into the guts of things. I mean, he’s famous for his mobiles that dance in the air, but here, everything’s pinned down, like a bug under glass. Did he make this on paper with gouache? It's got a bold, graphic punch, this push-pull between the black shapes and that lone triangle of cadmium red. I can imagine him, brush in hand, wrestling with these forms, trying to pin down something slippery. That star-like form, all spiky and anxious, versus that tight, controlled spiral. What's it all mean? Well, maybe it doesn't mean anything! Maybe it’s just Calder, playing in his studio, moving shapes around, like a jazz musician riffing on a theme. I mean, we're all just riffing off each other, right? Trying to find our own way of seeing the world, one brushstroke at a time.