Zig Zag 1974

Alexander Calder painted this gouache on paper, "Zig Zag", in 1974. It’s like looking into the mind of someone who just loves making stuff, you know? The colors are bold and primary. Look at the black spiral edged with bands of red and blue, it’s so immediate, you can imagine the gesture, the pleasure of the hand making the curve. The marks aren’t fussy, and the paint isn’t overworked. There’s an energy in the simplicity, the texture is flat, which throws the emphasis back onto the forms. My eye’s drawn to the yellow lightning bolt zig-zagging up the left side, those thick black circles punctuate the line like notes on a musical scale. Calder reminds me a little of Joan Miro. Both had a playful visual language. The difference is that Calder’s famous for his kinetic sculptures, his mobiles. I think of this painting as a kind of frozen mobile, a joyful celebration of line and form.