BLACK FLAG 1974

This is Alexander Calder’s sculpture Black Flag, which he made out of painted metal. Look at how these shapes are bolted together. It feels so direct! The sculpture is all about process. It's out there, large, and in the open, unconcerned with refinement. I love that it's black, which flattens the shapes and makes it feel like drawing in space. Check out the surface, you can see the marks from welding. It shows you how it was made. Take a look at how the arching legs connect to the body. This gives the piece a sense of balance and tension. It's like a snapshot of movement, a freeze frame of a dance. Calder reminds me of Joan Miró; they both had this playful way of turning simple shapes into something magical. With Calder, there’s always this feeling that things can shift and change, like a conversation that's never really over.