Ubu 1971

Curator: This vibrantly colored acrylic painting is "Ubu," completed by Alexander Calder in 1971. Its collection of geometric forms, buoyant in composition, exemplify Calder's playfulness during his late career. Editor: It strikes me immediately as joyous and cartoonish. The shapes are so simple, almost like stencils a child would use, but there's an underlying symbolic language. Curator: Indeed. Calder had been deeply engaged with theatrical design, particularly Alfred Jarry's "Ubu Roi," an absurdist play satirizing power. Given that, one might interpret the forms as characters or elements from this play rendered in a delightfully flattened space. The rise of the Pop Art movement influenced Calder’s aesthetic vocabulary at this point, impacting both the formal arrangements and the selected imagery. Editor: The Yin-Yang symbol juxtaposed with the cartoonish moon – is Calder hinting at dualities, perhaps a cosmic dance of opposing forces? Also, the red “T” structure and stacked circles possess an almost totemic presence. I wonder if it evokes the idea of primal archetypes, like mother, father and child. Curator: That's an interesting reading. During this era, the art world grappled with questions around institutional power and accessibility, with pop art emerging as a rebellion against established norms. In Calder's context, creating seemingly childlike works can itself be seen as a way to challenge the authority inherent in established art circles. Editor: Absolutely. The power of this simplicity makes one recall ancient pictograms and sigils. Look at the spiky star form! With this almost unconscious or shared recognition, it’s as if the painting allows for the rediscovery of universal meaning in rudimentary geometric representations. Curator: Ultimately, “Ubu,” in its own lighthearted way, represents how even established artists like Calder responded to—and commented on—the evolving art world in the later twentieth century. Editor: The composition and use of simple yet symbolically powerful shapes creates a piece that operates both on a visual and subconscious level. I feel the painting evokes something primordial within the modern, and invites contemplation on cultural history in an engaging manner.