Tuesday 18th December 2012, 8:00pm

Session 102: “Calder’s Circus”

During this session, Agnes Thöni presented and screened the film “Calder’s Circus”. Shot in 1961 by Carlos Vilardebó, the film shows Alexander Calder’s fascinating early work: his miniature circus. Sword swallowers, lions, contortionists and acrobats made of wire were manipulated by the artist, re-creating delicate little circus acts. The stage was designed to fit inside suitcases to be portable.

Calder used to give regular performances of his circus in Paris and New York through the mid-thirties. Avant-garde artists like Piet Mondrian, Jean Cocteau, Le Corbusier, Man Ray or Joan Miró attended in Calder’s studio to see it. The live shows, provided with an intermission, lasted up to two hours. As critic James Johnson Sweeney describes, Calder’s Circus was `a laboratory in which some of the most original features of his later work were to be developed.’

Following the film and discussion, we rang in the holiday season with homemade Glühwein and a special set by DJ Sammy Klaus.

Participants: 15