Bringing Alexander Calder’s Sculptures to Life
Bringing Alexander Calder’s Sculptures to Life

    
    
      
        
        
        




  



  
    
    Alexander Calder is famous for having made sculptures that move, but conservators and collectors are cautious about showing them that way. “Calder: Hypermobility,” a new exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, is a rare chance to see several of his works as intended.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    To bring them to life, several of the Whitney’s art handlers, who ordinarily work behind the scenes, have been cast into a new role as performers. At scheduled times during the run of the show, a handler will “activate” a sculpture in the gallery with the prod of a gloved finger or the poke of a wooden stick.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    Alexander S. C. Rower, a grandson of Calder’s who is president of the Calder Foundation, has trained the crew members to activate the sculptures, a delicate procedure that is, the museum would like to emphasize, only for authorized museum professionals. I spoke to several of the “activators” about their work.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    
    
    
    
    

    
  
    
    In motion, the sculptures show a different disposition.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “What I understood as the Calder mobile was sort of a passive thing,” said Rob Lomblad, one of the handlers.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    And Calder’s signature elements — twisted wire and painted sheet metal — can move in unpredictable ways.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “You’re actually holding something that has this almost spiritual quality to it,” said Tom Kotik, who has been working as a handler at the Whitney for two decades. “Blizzard (Roxbury Flurry)” is one of his favorites. “It does have this playful side to it,” he said, “but then again, you think about it in terms of the cold and the snow, and there’s almost a — I wouldn’t say grittiness, because snow is not gritty — but there’s a yin and a yang.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “A lot of the slower movements are contemplative,” Mr. Kotik added. “It’s not simply like turning on the TV and having a good time.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    Caitlin Bermingham, who leads the team of art handlers, said, “People really want to see a lot of drama, and sometimes it’s not going to be so dramatic.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “It’s interesting because he did really intend those things to be kind of slow, or to be awkward,” Ms. Bermingham continued.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    
    
    
    

  


    
    
  
    
    “They’re all quite graceful,” Mr. Lomblad said. “But some of them, I think on purpose, have these moments when they’re not graceful.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “I know that couldn’t be by accident,” he added.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    Practice helps, said Natalee Cayton, another handler. “If you haven’t done that particular piece, your first try could be not the best.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    Mr. Lomblad said, “They each have their own sort of potential energy, so if you can harness what it’s already doing to make it more active, you can spread out that energy.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    
    
    
    
    

    
  
    
    The museum has posted a schedule of activations, and visitors have begun to anticipate the appearance of the smock-wearing handlers, waiting for them to emerge from the elevators into the eighth-floor gallery.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “If the piece moves for longer, then people’s attention stays with the piece,” Ms. Cayton said. “If it slows down, then they’re looking more at you.”
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    After one crowd-pleasing activation, Ms. Cayton said she received a round of applause.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    
    
    
    
    

    
  
    
    Some of these sculptures, like “The Helices,” a dark, heavy bronze, show a lesser-known side of Calder.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    “It is really enjoyable to get so close to the works and feel like you have a physical attachment to them, which you literally do for that moment,” Mr. Kotik said.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    It’s subtle physical work, which handlers are used to; but with a deeper significance, activating works that have rarely been seen in motion for decades.
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
    As Mr. Kotik said, “It’s not like you’re moving a couch.”
    
    
    
    
    
  





  “Calder: Hypermobility” runs through Oct. 23 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Manhattan; whitney.org.
  Video by DAMON WINTER






        
        
    
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