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Alexander Calder


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#1 Uniden

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Posted 28 July 2011 - 12:06 AM

Alexander Calder

(ISFj?)

This man is an artist most famous for inventing the mobile. A large number of his artworks are mobiles, and when I was going through his exhibit, it was most interesting to me the many varied ways in which the mobiles are balanced. He also created a variety of stabiles, toys, and jewelry. An impression one can get from viewing a large collection of his art is a sort of tinkering spirit he had with them. Many of his art works seem to have been sort of cobbled together with whatever odds and ends he could scrap up.

As for his type, from what I tried to discern, he doesn't seem particularly Fe valuing. Also, the qualities he describes things in seems to be best related to Se. This would mean he would be some Se ego in the gamma quadra. ESFp or ISFj? Temperament now seems to be the best differentiating factor. But, which? Well... from what I can identify... rational? But, I've been rather wrong in making distinctions between the various temperaments before.

Photos
Posted Image

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More photos can be found here: http://calder.org/ar...alphotos/index/

Interview
http://www.aaa.si.ed...er-calder-12226

Being born before the 20th century means it is rather hard to find video of him. That transcript of an interview is the best I could dig up. I read that entire thing.

The impression I get of him from that interview is that he doesn't seem to be a particularly deep thinking individual. Also he seems to describe things in a way I think relates best to Se. I tried using that IE Semantics Research page as reference.

He seemed to mention about likes and dislikes at some amount in the interview. His likes/dislikes and other peoples. But, I'm not sure how significant that actually is. If I had to mark it as significant, I would pin it down as a Fi view of things. But, I'm not sure.

Yeah, I didn't get all that much from the interview. From reading it, though, I'm surprised the guy from the interview is the same guy who said the quotes below.

Quotes
"How can art be realized?

Out of volumes, motion, spaces bounded by the great space, the universe.

Out of different masses, tight, heavy, middling—indicated by variations of size or color—directional line—vectors which represent speeds, velocities, accelerations, forces, etc. . . .—these directions making between them meaningful angles, and senses, together defining one big conclusion or many.

Spaces, volumes, suggested by the smallest means in contrast to their mass, or even including them, juxtaposed, pierced by vectors, crossed by speeds.

Nothing at all of this is fixed.

Each element able to move, to stir, to oscillate, to come and go in its relationships with the other elements in its universe.

It must not be just a fleeting moment but a physical bond between the varying events in life.

Not extractions,

But abstractions

Abstractions that are like nothing in life except in their manner of reacting."
(That's one entire quote from Abstraction-Création, Art Non Figuratif, no. 1, 1932.)

"The simplest forms in the universe are the sphere and the circle. I represent them by disks and then I vary them... spheres of different sizes, densities, colours and volumes, floating in space, traversing clouds, sprays of water, currents of air, viscosities and odours – of the greatest variety and disparity."

"The universe is real but you can't see it. You have to imagine it. Once you imagine it, you can be realistic about reproducing it."

"I paint with shapes."

"When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the explanation."

"Each element can move, shift or sway back & forth in a changing relation to each of the other elements in the universe. Thus, they reveal not only isolated moments, but a physical law or variation among the elements of life. Not extractions, but abstractions. Abstractions which resemble no living things except by their manner of reacting."

"From the beginning of my abstract work, even when it might not have seemed so, I felt there was no better model for me to choose than the Universe"

"The underlying sense of form in my work has been the system of the Universe, or part thereof."

"The sense of motion in painting and sculpture has long been considered as one of the primary elements of the composition."

#2 Galen

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Posted 28 July 2011 - 11:17 AM

The way he speaks does come off as very Se to me. I would probably say Se-ISTj though, I don't get the same sense of personal sentiment from him that I do from Fi egos. Something about this quote seems very Ti to me too:

"When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the explanation."
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." -Roald Dahl

#3 Uniden

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Posted 28 July 2011 - 01:19 PM

I think I remember the sort of idea behind that quote. If an artist could explain something he is making in words, then he wouldn't have made that thing in the first place. Because there wouldn't be a point to all that effort then. So, by explaining something, he's either rendering what he made pointless or his explanation really doesn't quite fit. Um, I'm not sure how this idea fits under Ti.

Anyways, I agree I did somewhere in the beginning of my analysis of him get a sort of Ti impression. But, I thought I saw Se there as well so Alpha is straight out. But, I don't know, I couldn't really identify the "betaness" in him. So, I kinda went with what I had left. Anyone have any other ideas? Perhaps how he fits beta fine or not?




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