Calder: Cirque Calder





	Calder with Cirque Calder, 1927. Photograph by André Kertész. Courtesy the Estate of André Kertész and The Alexander and Louisa Calder Foundation, New York view enlargement	"... I had embellished a humpty-dumpty circus made by a Philadelphia toy company. There was an elephant and a mule. They could be made to stand on their hind quarters, front quarters, or heads. Then there were clowns with slots in their feet and claws in their hands; they could balance on a ladder on one foot or one hand. I had once articulated these things with strings, so the clown would end up on the back of the elephant." - Alexander Calder from Calder: An Autobiography with Pictures (1966), referring to the 1926 "embellishment" that may be considered a precursor to his Cirque Calder.

	Calder's experimentation with toy design led him directly to his next production: his elaborate, miniature Cirque Calder. Developed gradually between 1926 and 1930, Calder's circus was an intricately assembled performance piece played out by handmade characters including jugglers, sword swallowers, clowns, and animals. These figures, crafted from a collection of "cork, wire, wood, yarn, paper, string, and cloth," were each assigned a series of movements and manipulated by the artist to perform specific circus acts. With performances held at various locations in Paris and New York through the mid 1930s, Calder's circus helped to establish him in avante-garde circles. Jean Cocteau, Joan Miró, Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian, Le Corbusier, Thomas Wolfe, and André Kertész were among those who saw the celebrated Cirque Calder over the years. Due to its fragile construction, Cirque Calder is unable to travel for exhibitions. It is permanently installed at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. A 1961 film by Carlos Vilardebo -- which includes footage of Calder performing his Circus -- will be shown in the Calder retrospective at SFMOMA.
	Calder's circus dog, 1929. Courtesy The Alexander and Louisa Calder Foundation, New York	A circus invitation, 1929. Courtesy The Alexander and Louisa Calder Foundation, New York
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