Lobster Trap and Fish Tail 1939

Curator: Alexander Calder’s “Lobster Trap and Fish Tail,” created in 1939, is an intriguing piece. It's hanging here at MoMA, constructed with mixed media—primarily painted sheet metal and wire. Editor: It feels like looking at a quirky underwater dance. Sort of skeletal, a whimsical marine creature revealed by X-ray, all shapes and shadows. Curator: Indeed. Calder was revolutionizing sculpture by dematerializing it. Instead of mass, we get lines defining form. These are geometric shapes referencing natural forms, transforming volume into nearly two-dimensional space. How might this interplay influence perceptions of movement and depth? Editor: For me, there is an immediate sense of humor; I feel that with that vibrant, reddish-pink fish-like form suspended overhead, you know? Like it is commenting from above. Is it a trap? Or is it a flag of surrender, for the viewer, for us all? Curator: Calder often integrated industrial materials, a very strategic intervention blurring the lines between high art and everyday life. Think about the sociopolitical context: the Great Depression, impending war. These playful abstractions become a counterpoint to a world of looming anxieties, allowing him a sense of catharsis from political distress, if only symbolically. Editor: Yes, like some joyful resistance against heavy times! Perhaps there’s a parallel between the balance he achieves and the social harmony people strive for in uncertain times. Each element seems connected, influencing one another...like any community in history, I think! Curator: Precisely. The mobile as metaphor. These shapes evoke feelings of suspension and interconnection while inviting commentary about themes such as freedom, balance and interdependency. Editor: Well, for me this experience just reaffirms the transformative power of playful imagination, in society as in art, where an artistic genius can shape the world just so—balanced! Curator: A wonderful insight into this fantastic mobile!