Description

During his time in Paris, where he enrolled at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere from 1926-1933, Calder constructed a toy theatre based on the classic Big Top Circus of the time. The work featured a full circus ring (137.2 × 239.4 × 239.4 cm), with a ringmaster and a multitude of performing models including contortionists, sword eaters, trapeze artists and lion tamers. Each performing piece and as well as all the moving parts of the circus were handmade by the artist, mostly out of wire, wood and cloth. With over 200 live performances on both sides of the Atlantic, Cirque Calder became a popular event for the artistic avant-garde of the time and many contemporaries like Fernand Léger and Marcel Duchamp enjoyed Calder’s improvised performances.