fbpx
A large black abstract mobile hangs from the ceiling in a white gallery.
Alexander Calder
Eighteen Numbered Black, 1953

Artwork Info

Artwork title
Eighteen Numbered Black
Artist name
Alexander Calder
Date created
1953
Classification
sculpture
Medium
metal and paint
Dimensions
110 in. × 140 in. × 140 in. (279.4 cm × 355.6 cm × 355.6 cm)
Credit
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Copyright
© Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Permanent URL
https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/FC.624
Artwork status
On view on floor 3 as part of Alexander Calder: Dissonant Harmony through June 25, 2023.

Audio Stories

How Calder is like Beethoven

Show TranscriptHide Transcript

transcripts

SFX: Music, spare, meditative

 

SANDY ROWER:

I actually grew up with a mobile above me all the time that was made by my grandfather.

 

NARRATOR:

Sandy Rower

 

ROWER:

I wish Eighteen Numbered Black was mine.

 

SFX: Piano opens up into a concerto reminiscent of Beethoven

 

ROWER:

If you think about a handwritten composition by Beethoven or something, if you think about the notes on the score, then the sculpture starts to have this kind of resonance to how music or sound has these waves, these frequencies. And the mobiles have that, too.

 

SFX: Music

 

NARRATOR:

Move around. Try looking at it from different angles.

 

ROWER:

It has so much going on that each time you see it, you can have a new experience. There’s a sensation that something might even be alive. Even though it’s just metal—you know, sheet metal, wire, paint, you do feel this quality of a presence in the room with you.

 

SFX: Music fades

Read MoreCollapse

Other Works by Alexander Calder

Please note that artwork locations are subject to change, and not all works are on view at all times. If you are planning a visit to SFMOMA to see a specific work of art, we suggest you contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to confirm it will be on view.

Only a portion of SFMOMA's collection is currently online, and the information presented here is subject to revision. Please contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to verify collection holdings and artwork information. If you are interested in receiving a high resolution image of an artwork for educational, scholarly, or publication purposes, please contact us at copyright@sfmoma.org.

This resource is for educational use and its contents may not be reproduced without permission. Please review our Terms of Use for more information.