Sheesh, remind me never to play Jeopardy with Dutch. While I was posting my surprised little ramble about Alexander Calder toys, he was finishing up his own awesome, info-packed ode to Calder and his circus on Sweet Juniper. [Not enough Circus for you? Go read MoMA curator James Sweeney's exhibition catalogue essay on Calder from 1951.]
AND
his wife Wood braved the DWR floor sample sale to score Juniper a Calder shark pulltoy for a mere $60.
AND
he uploaded the Calder's Circus movie to YouTube. [The 1961 film by Carlos Vilardebo turns out to be at least the second filmed version of the Cirque Calder performances the artist gave for friends, family, fellow artists, and paying audiences from the late Twenties onward. Live performances could last up to two hours. Vilardebo's film exists in two versions; the shorter, 18-minute cut is the one in widest circulation. But it turns out the pioneering science filmmaker Jean Painlevˆ© directed a longer Cirque de Calder film in 1953. I'll take Calder Films for $400, please, Alec...]
Calder Toys [sweetjuniper]
Vilardebo's Cirque de Calder is at Sweet Juniper's video collection [youtube]
