Brass, sheet metal, wire, and paint, 19 x 66 in., Promised gift of Jon and Mary Shirley, Photo courtesy of Calder Foundation, New York / Art Resource, New York.
Calder’s mobiles are acknowledged for their subtle movement but rarely for making noise. Of over 22,000 artworks attributed to Calder, scholars have identified dozens of sound-producing mobiles. His legendary Cirque Calder (1926–31) included bells, harmonicas, and cymbals, for example, and the gong appeared in works stretching from the early 1930s to the 1970s. “You have weight, form, size, color, motion and then you have noise,” Calder reflected on noise-mobiles. The anticipation of sound or noise adds further mystery to the hanging mobile, whether it is still or activated by air currents.