Balloons and Parachutes 1975

Curator: Well, what a joy it is to introduce "Balloons and Parachutes," created by Alexander Calder in 1975. Calder, best known for his mobiles, translates his whimsical kinetic sensibility into this delightful painting with acrylic and ink. Editor: It’s so lighthearted! There's a childlike quality to it. Are those daredevils, drifting so nonchalantly? Curator: Exactly! Calder really captures the sheer exhilaration, doesn't he? Look at the boldness of his colors. Notice how he renders the figures suspended beneath their brightly colored canopies. The color, predominantly red, blue, and yellow, vibrates against the stark backdrop. Editor: I notice how those minimalist lines define each parachute jumper— it's fascinating that you still sense a body tumbling. Almost looks weightless as they float on the white ground of the paper. And each body is shaded in contrast to their balloons to make them pop. There’s such simplicity in the form. The lack of detail really draws focus to movement and dynamism. Curator: Indeed! And if you let your eye play, the painting teeters playfully as do the suspended figures from his mobiles! It is Modernist through and through. This is late-career Calder. It signals to the idea of play so present throughout Calder's artistic project. Editor: You are spot on. This feels a lot more intuitive. You get a sense Calder had a blast crafting each skydiver, and I think that pure sense of joy shines through this. He took to heart what they say, you have to get a few parachutes to learn to be a daredevil! Curator: That makes me love it all the more! Editor: Me too! It is very interesting what is there because what there isn't really brings it to life. A life raft floating between two different worlds, one of security and one of pure dare. I would like to feel that someday.