Visiting Calder’s Circus at the Whitney
It’s a rare thing to go to an art museum and see a fine art exhibit perfectly suited to kids. When we went to see Alexander Calder: The Paris Years 1926-1933 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, it was packed with kids. This may be bad news for some art fans, but it’s great for arty parents.
While it’s not a hands-on show, as Olive was hoping it would be, it’s full of Calder’s toys and circus sculptures, all of which are completely joyful. The best part of the show were the videos playing throughout, showing the movement of the sculptures. My favorite is this video of Calder performing his circus pieces (Whitney gets major points for making this available on YouTube):
Another great feature is that kids get a sketchbook as they enter where they can draw what they see. It’s full of activities to do in the exhibit: “FIND a sculpture or a drawing of an animal in the galleries. DRAW a picture of that animal.” Olive plunked right down in the middle of the gallery and started drawing. I was a very proud art mama.
For older kids, I recommend reading The Calder Game before or after you go, to feel even more connected with the artist’s work.
Also, don’t miss the William Eggelston show while you’re at the Whitney. With a few exceptions of male nudity and videos with profanity, this show is wonderful for kids as well. My favorite photograph from the exhibit says it all.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I remember when cellphones started to become ubiquitous and the word “mobile” appeared with greater and greater frequency. It took quite a while for me to see that word and think “phone” instead of my previous association which was “Calder.”