On View
On viewObject number1968/9.30
The D and the Delta
Artist
Alexander Calder
(American, 1898-1976)
Date1962
Mediumpainted iron
DimensionsOverall: 36 in. × 15 ft. × 60 in. (91.4 × 457.2 × 152.4 cm)
Credit LineDirector's Fund
Exhibition History"Selections from the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Permanent Collection," University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, (Summer, 1971).
"Festival '77", Grand Rapids, MI (May - June 1977).
On loan to Muskegon Museum of Art (May 27, 1997- Aug. 4, 1998).
"Art and the American Experience," KIA (Sept. 13 - Dec. 6, 1998).
"Lasting Legacy: A Collection for Kalamazoo," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Sep. 6, 2014 - Jan. 4, 2015).
Label TextThe D and the Delta is a classic Calder mobile. A mobile is a kinetic (moving) sculpture constructed of painted sheet metal cutouts attached to curved rods that move either with motors or simple air currents. Educated as a mechanical engineer, Calder was
always fascinated by objects in motion and strove
to incorporate movement and the element of time in his art.
Comprised of eleven irregular shapes painted in basic black, this work was named for the two largest shapes which resemble the letter D and the Greek Delta symbol (?), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.
