FETISHES 1944

Alexander Calder made this painting, called "Fetishes," with oil on canvas. I can only imagine the painting process, how it came to be, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I really sympathize with the artist here, imagining what it must have been like to put this together. I wonder what he was thinking when he made it? I see that thin paint sits quietly on the surface of the canvas. I notice the yellow, the red, and the black, and how these elements shape our experience of the painting and contribute to its emotional and intellectual power. That red line makes me smile, and it communicates feeling, intention, and meaning. It seems to want to tickle the other shapes and forms on the canvas. Calder's in an ongoing conversation, exchanging ideas across time. That inspires my own creativity. Painting, as an embodied form of expression, embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.