Calder’s Jewelry

– By Mary Brennan Gerster –

Many of the greatest artists explore creative possibilities beyond the medium in which they first achieve success. To Picasso’s pottery, Hockney’s sets for the ballet and Le Courbusier’s furniture, add Alexander Calder’s jewelry, the subject of a current exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. His grandson, Sandy Rower, Director of the Calder Foundation, said that if his grandfather had done nothing else, he would be remembered as a great jeweler.

The tiaras, brooches, rings and necklaces that make up the ninety pieces in the exhibition are not the glitter and dazzle of Tiffany. Rather, the brass, silver and gold worked by Calder are all pounded with visible hammer marks to emphasize the prosaic craft of jewelry making. Yet, while many are oversized, suggesting they were meant to accessorize ancient armor, the forms interconnect harmoniously. As with his mobiles and stabiles, these are all about motion and lightness.

Influenced by ancient African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian arts, Calder stated “I decided a long time ago that primitive art really is preferable to decadent art … so I’ve tried to remain as primitive as possible.” Wearing his jewelry also indicated a politically liberal persuasion. Picasso, Braque and Matisse were also incorporating these primitive motifs within their art; all collected ancient artifacts as well.

Make no mistake though, these pieces would be dazzling to wear. No woman could enter a room sporting Harp and Heart (1937) or The Jealous Husband (1940) without creating a sensation. The latter was owned by adventurous Chicago collector Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman. It is a continuous line of loops that cover the chest of the wearer. At the top are spikes that would jangle when walking. Newman donated this work to the Met along with three others in 2006.

I am not the tiara type; I leave that to my granddaughters, all princesses in the making, but I would wear Calder’s Crown (1940) in a minute, a delicate collection of bent brass wire with a simple loop for the crown. Projecting from the circle are wires with a silhouette maple leaf at the tip. It would go wonderfully with a pair of worn jeans and a hand-woven shawl. The wearer would feel like a forest nymph.

The spiral, a universal symbol of eternity, is the subject of many of these pieces, including another favorite of mine, Hair Comb (1940). The hand-shaped spikes of a comb are topped with seven spirals of brass wire. On the worst “bad hair day” this would create glamour.

I told my friend Dolores Eyler (the founder of this paper) that she needed to see a silver pin in the collection. Calder created it for Dolores Miro, daughter of painter Joan Miro, and the name is spelled out in silver cursive. I am sure they could share it.

Calder’s story is a romantic one. He adored his wife Louisa James and was constantly creating pieces of jewelry as tokens of his love for her. Their grandson remembers his grandmother’s dressing table filled with these beautiful talismans. The gold ring he designed for their wedding is included (again with a spiral motif), along with a necklace, Medusa (1929), to go with Louisa’s wild, ringlets of hair. A simple spiral brooch was made for their 25th wedding anniversary, January 17, 1956. A far cry from Picasso and his women.

These pieces are pure magic, imbued with the artist’s unerring eye and wit. They are drawn from nature and mythology and were meant to be worn. Such illustrious women as Peggy Guggenheim, Mary Rockefeller, Georgia O’Keefe, Muriel Newman and his own wife Louisa were surely showstoppers as each entered a room with Calder’s “wearable art”.

This show is a gem (no pun intended) by itself, but to be able to see it along with his mobiles and stabiles at the Whitney provides a thorough view of the breadth and scope of this American artist.

“Calder Jewelry” is at the Metropolitan Museum through March 1. For information, call 212-535-7710 or visit www.metmuseum.org.