Figure and Striped Profile 1962

Curator: Alexander Calder's "Figure and Striped Profile," painted in 1962 using acrylic paint, confronts us with a bold, graphic style. What are your initial impressions? Editor: It’s striking how flat everything appears. The bold lines and simplified forms definitely catch the eye. There is a deliberate reduction of depth that flattens the visual plane and foregrounds the pure abstract form of lines, colors, and material contrasts. Curator: Absolutely. Looking at the means of production, the choice of acrylics, especially during the rise of Pop Art, suggests an embrace of industrial, readily available materials. How does that impact the experience for you? Editor: Well, that’s fascinating. Thinking about materiality, I focus on how he coaxes such a dynamic sense of energy from these commonplace lines and shapes. There’s this conversation between form and flatness that the artist evokes. The interaction feels surprisingly playful and even whimsical despite the restriction in color and medium. Curator: Indeed, the socio-political and cultural implications of a "common" choice of medium. This painting, with its abstracted figures, could also be seen as a commentary on the growing abstraction of human relationships within a mechanized, rapidly changing world. Editor: I can see that point of view, yet one cannot neglect that the lines also perform on the pure structural, and syntactical levels. The orange smear at the back, and its formal correlation with black circles and geometric human shapes, invites one to think about its form first. Curator: Precisely. This approach certainly blurs those strict, arbitrary distinctions we tend to draw between, say, so-called high art and commercial design or simple craft. Editor: In its aesthetic purity and clarity, and given its almost schematic abstraction, "Figure and Striped Profile" invites us to reflect on how structure can act to reveal pure energy. Curator: Precisely; on the impact the production of simple paintings had in shaping Pop-Art cultural dialogue. Editor: A stimulating look, either way! Curator: Indeed! A powerful example of Calder’s exploration using accessible techniques!