Calder's work has to be seen in person to appreciate it. Photographs definitely don't give you much of an impression. I'd compare it to the experience of stan

Calder's work has to be seen in person to appreciate it. Photographs definitely don't give you much of an impression. I'd compare it to the experience of standing beneath a skyscraper and looking up. There's no photograph that can convey the actual experience. The best they can do is reference it and remind us. I'd been aware of Calder's mobiles for over 20 years, but only this summer did I see one in person. The one I saw was much larger in person that I'd expected. But the main impression I had was how balanced all of the pieces were (they had to be to make the sculpture work as a mobile) and how light and airy it was (there's a lot of empty space surrounding the pieces). What makes the mobiles interesting as sculptures is that your standard sculptural work just sits there, the forces which act on the sculpture are static, whereas the mobile is constantly in motion, it's a very dynamic arrangement. If a person had a poetic way of speaking, they'd say the mobiles were a little bit alive. But if not, they are captivating to watch, their behavior is both predicable and not (chaos rather than disorder).