DOC Theatre-Making: Interplay Between Text and Performance in the 21st Century by Duscaron;ka Radosavljević in Arts-Photography

Description

Alexander Calder was one of the most original artists of the twentieth century and a major figure in American art. Renowned for his mobiles and stabiles; he also created the beloved Calder Circus; an early performance piece now preserved at the Whitney Museum. He was a contemporary and friend of Marcel Duchamp and Joan Miroacute; and collaborated with Martha Graham. His wife; Louisa; was a grandniece of Henry and William James; a liberal society girl from Boston who loved to entertain. Both were characters; full of joie de vivre. When they moved their family to Roxbury; Connecticut; they became a mainstay in a community that included Arthur Miller and Saul Steinberg; who would come to their parties.In this unique and beautiful work; Sandra Calder Davidson remembers growing up as the daughter of this larger-than-life pair and celebrates the familymdash;the children and grandchildrenmdash;that grew out of their loving home. Sandra has a gift for caricaturing people as animalsmdash;her father as a circus lion; Louisa as a nippy foxmdash;and the book is organized around these portraits; accompanied by vivid recollections and anecdotes about the subjects. The ldquo;other crittersrdquo; include; besides Miller and Steinberg; other family friends and whimsical fauna she has encountered; like St. Louis Cardinal fans in full cardinal regalia or a Florida gator at a cocktail party for retirees.Celebrating family and the joyful dance of life; here is a book with the freshness and grace of a Calder mobile.