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Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)
Totem, n.d.
Painted metal, 105 x 109 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
© Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Alexander Calder literally put art into motion. His carefully balanced abstract sculptures are composed of shapes derived from plant and leaf forms. To the physical dimensions of length, width, and depth he added the fourth dimension of time. Calder's forms are meant to reveal themselves to us as they move slowly through space. As with music, it is only over time that we come to perceive and understand the full personality and structure of the work.

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