Blue Times Question 1969

Alexander Calder made 'Blue Times Question' with paint on paper, but when exactly, we can only guess. It’s a kind of playful dance between shapes and colors, all floating on this pale ground. You can almost feel the artist’s hand in the way the brushstrokes build up the colors. Look at that big blue blob, all juicy and uneven. Or that fat, curvy question mark shape, like he just swooped down and made it in one go. There is something so direct and intuitive about how he applies the paint, it reminds you that artmaking is a process of just doing. I think of Joan Miró when I look at this. Like Calder, Miró used simple shapes and bold colors to create a world of endless possibility. Neither of them were about fixed meanings, but more about a spirit of freedom, you know? It’s the kind of art that makes you feel like anything is possible.