Many Crucifixions 1964

Alexander Calder made this watercolor painting in 1964, with a lot of juicy, bleeding color. It's a very material work, you can see that the red and blue washes were applied wet-on-wet, and the black ink dripped down on top of the colors. He made these marks without thinking too hard, or over-working it. The "crucifixions" are more like figures, maybe even botanical forms, but not quite either. I can imagine Calder trying to get something down quickly, like an automatic drawing. It might have been like doodling, where the ideas don't fully come until later. Sometimes the way you do something becomes more important than what you do, that’s the funny thing about art. We’re all in conversation with each other as artists, you know. I can see the back-and-forth in this painting, as Calder must have looked at other paintings, and then made something new from it. Making a painting is about more than just the subject; it’s about how you decide to make it.