A Weird Man 1949

Alexander Calder made "A Weird Man" with paint, and I am really taken by how the forms emerge from fields of colour. The colours aren't blended, but laid down next to each other in these simple blocks. The red area, for instance, is built up with a mix of red and orange that feels really immediate and process-driven. It's like he’s saying, hey, art is a verb, something you do. Calder’s use of black lines is also really striking; they’re not just outlines but shapes in themselves that carve out the composition. That black line coming down from the figure’s head is so dynamic, and seems to tie the whole image together, connecting the top to the bottom. It reminds me a bit of Miro, the way he mixes playful figuration with abstraction. I see his spirit of experimentation and openness to accident. It really shows you that art doesn't need to be so serious.