Fun & Alexander Calder

Someday, it would be nice if it were said of me that I was a great writer...style, dialogue, plotting, what have you.  But it would also be really nice if I were remembered for having some fantastical, fun ideas - a great imagination.  I thought of this shelving a book about the artist Alexander Calder the other day.

I have always loved Calder, who is most famous for creating the mobile.  I love his mobiles.  But what struck me as a kid watching a video about him in middle or high school was the footage of this funny old man tinkering around making the Calder Circus.

"The 'Circus' was a miniature reproduction of an actual circus. Made from wire, cork, wood, cloth and other easily found materials, the 'Circus' was a working display that Calder would show regularly. A mix between a diorama, a child’s toy, and a fair game, Calder’s 'Circus' found many eager fans among the avant-garde. One of the methods used to create the 'Circus' was the bending of wire to form realistic figures."

Whoa.  How fun does that sound?  How fun does this look?

"In a time of constant artistic upheaval, Alexander Calder’s aesthetic revolution concerned itself with a somewhat taboo topic in the art world — fun." - from PBS.org*

  I think perhaps all children's writers can relate to this interest in making fun art that the kid version of you would have loved.

When I imagine that footage - Calder puttering around with what could be seen as a playset with dolls - I'm reminded of myself, playing pretend on the page, characters acting out grand schemes, inventing wild things that the very young Virginia might have dreamed up on the playground.

All writing is supposed to be fun - it's an act of choice.  But as a children's writer, I have a special privilege to have fun.  I hope I use it. 

 *It later says that he "was living in Paris off the proceeds of his regular performances." We should all be so lucky!