Quiz: Alexander Calder

10 November 2015

Calder’s pioneering 3D performance sculptures won him a place on a US stamp and many accolades; how much do you know about this fascinating artist?

Alexander the Great

Alexander Calder, Red and Yellow Vane, 1934, ourtesy Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, NY

'To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.' Alexander Calder had a remarkable talent for maths, engineering and 'drawing in space'.

Test your knowledge of this innovative artist and take the quiz.
Question 1 of 6

Alexander Calder, Standing Mobile, 1937, Accepted by H.M. Government in lieu of tax and allocated to Tate 2002

What did Calder study initially?
1. 1. Welding
2. 2. Mechanical engineering
3. 3. Maths
4. 4. Art
Correct!It’s Mechanical engineering. Calder was exceptionally talented at maths and was steered away from art by his parents who didn’t want him to be a struggling artist. His father and grandfather were both sculptors, while his mother was a portrait painter.

Wrong!It’s Mechanical engineering. Calder was exceptionally talented at maths and was steered away from art by his parents who didn’t want him to be a struggling artist. His father and grandfather were both sculptors, while his mother was a portrait painter.
Question 2 of 6

Alexander Calder

Which of the following jobs did Calder not do after his initial studies?
1. 1. Logger
2. 2. Hydraulic engineer
3. 3. Draughtsman
4. 4. Ship mechanic
Correct!It’s Logger. Calder took many jobs before he decided to become an artist, he wasn’t a logger but he did work as a stint as a timekeeper at a logging camp while staying with his sister.

Wrong!It’s Logger. Calder took many jobs before he decided to become an artist, he wasn’t a logger but he did work as a stint as a timekeeper at a logging camp while staying with his sister.
Question 3 of 6

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2

3

4

1. Los Angeles. 2. Berlin. 3. Madrid. 4. New York City.

Which city did Calder live in once he had decided to become an artist?
1. 1. Los Angeles
2. 2. Berlin
3. 3. Madrid
4. 4. New York City
Correct!It’s New York City. Calder studied painting at the Arts Student League in New York from 1923-6. He also spent several years in Paris where he met influential avant-garde artists such as Mondrian, Leger and Duchamp.

Wrong!It’s New York City. Calder studied painting at the Arts Student League in New York from 1923-6. He also spent several years in Paris where he met influential avant-garde artists such as Mondrian, Leger and Duchamp.
Question 4 of 6

Alexander Calder, White Panel, 1936, Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, NY

Which surrealist artist named Calder’s sculptures ‘mobiles’?
1. 1. Max Ernst
2. 2. Salvador Dali
3. 3. Marcel Duchamp
4. 4. Joan Miró
Correct!It’s Marcel Duchamp. Mobile is a French pun meaning ‘motion’ and ‘motive’. Calder saw his wire sculptures as ‘drawing in space’.

Wrong!It’s Marcel Duchamp. Mobile is a French pun meaning ‘motion’ and ‘motive’. Calder saw his wire sculptures as ‘drawing in space’.
Question 5 of 6

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2

3

4

1. Jean-Paul Sartre. 2. Albert Camus. 3. Simone de Beauvoir. 4. Martin Heidegger.

Which philosopher wrote the accompanying essay for Calder’s 1946 show in Galerie Louis Carré in Paris?
1. 1. Jean-Paul Sartre
2. 2. Albert Camus
3. 3. Simone de Beauvoir
4. 4. Martin Heidegger
Correct!It’s Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre described Calder’s mobiles as, '...a little private celebration, an object defined by its movement and having no other existence. Mobiles have no meaning, they are, that is all.'

Wrong!It’s Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre described Calder’s mobiles as, '...a little private celebration, an object defined by its movement and having no other existence. Mobiles have no meaning, they are, that is all.'
Question 6 of 6

Alexander Calder in his Roxbury studio, 1941, Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, NY

Which year did Calder represent the United States at the Venice Biennale?
1. 1. 1932
2. 2. 1942
3. 3. 1952
4. 4. 1962
Correct!It’s 1952. Calder was awarded the main prize for sculpture at the contemporary visual art exhibition.

Wrong!It’s 1952. Calder was awarded the main prize for sculpture at the contemporary visual art exhibition.
Dunce

0/6

You may as well put this attempt down Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain sculpture. Poor show.

Dunce

1/6

You may as well put this attempt down Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain sculpture. Poor show.

Dunce

2/6

You may as well put this attempt down Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain sculpture. Poor show.

Dunce

3/6

You may as well put this attempt down Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain sculpture. Poor show.

Art historian

4/6

Not bad. Maybe it's time to take an evening course to brush up though?

Art historian

5/6

Not bad. Maybe it's time to take an evening course to brush up though?

Professor

6/6

Move over Jean-Paul Sartre! We’re looking forward to your next essay on kinetic art.
Click to reveal the correct answer
1. 1. What did Calder study initially?
  Correct
  Incorrect
2. Correct answer: Mechanical engineering
3. 2. Which of the following jobs did Calder not do after his initial studies?
  Correct
  Incorrect
4. Correct answer: Logger
5. 3. Which city did Calder live in once he had decided to become an artist?
  Correct
  Incorrect
6. Correct answer: New York City
7. 4. Which surrealist artist named Calder’s sculptures ‘mobiles’?
  Correct
  Incorrect
8. Correct answer: Marcel Duchamp
9. 5. Which philosopher wrote the accompanying essay for Calder’s 1946 show in Galerie Louis Carré in Paris?
  Correct
  Incorrect
10. Correct answer: Jean-Paul Sartre
11. 6. Which year did Calder represent the United States at the Venice Biennale?
  Correct
  Incorrect
12. Correct answer: 1952
Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture is the first major UK retrospective of the sculptor's work and is at Tate Modern until 3 April 2016. 50% off with a National Art Pass.
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Quiz: Alexander Calder

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