Mountains and Clouds
Encyclopedia
Mountains and Clouds is the name of a sculpture by Alexander Calder
, located in the Hart Senate Office Building
.
Senator Philip A. Hart, broke with tradition. Unlike its predecessors, the Hart Building boasted a contemporary, energy-efficient design that could accommodate a growing number of staff members and various technological innovations. The building’s centerpiece is a towering, asymmetrical 90 feet (27.4 m)-high atrium
whose skylight brightens corridors and offices.
While the building was under construction, a panel of curators was charged with identifying potential sculptors and establishing criteria for the commission of a contemporary work to enliven the atrium. Alexander Calder
and four other artists were invited to submit proposals. Calder was approached through his dealer, Klaus Perls
, on July 29, 1975, just after his 77th birthday. A sketch and a model for Mountains and Clouds were submitted by November and, in April 1976, Calder’s innovative design was accepted.
—his 20 inches (508 mm) sheet-metal model—to Washington, D.C., to present it to the Architect of the Capitol and finalize the placement of the piece. After making minor adjustments to two of the clouds, he expressed satisfaction with the maquette as positioned in a model of the atrium. This proved to be a final visit: Calder died of a heart attack
that night after he returned to New York City
. Despite his death, the approval of the maquette and the siting of the work meant that fabrication of the full-sized sculpture could proceed. But in 1979, fabrication was delayed and nearly terminated when public funds for the sculpture were eliminated from the costly construction budget for the Hart Building.
Financial assistance materialized in 1982 through Senator Nicholas F. Brady
, who believed the Calder sculpture to be "the right work for the right place at the right time." As New Jersey
’s senator for eight months—appointed to a vacancy pending election of a successor—Brady wished to present a gift to the Senate on his departure and offered to raise the needed funds. Together with art collector and philanthropist Paul Mellon
and former Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon
, Brady formed the Capitol Art Foundation, which accomplished the task. The Calder sculpture was installed in the atrium of the Hart Building in 1986.
The placement of Mountains and Clouds makes the sculpture part of the entire irregularly shaped public space of the building, not just part of the east atrium. Calder’s genius in positioning it led to the work’s great success. The atrium is directly entered from the east doors to the building. As one passes through a low lobby, only a section of the black steel sheets of the mountains appears, perceived as a virtually flat surface. The whole complex composition becomes apparent only when one reaches the junction of lobby and atrium. Suddenly, the full height of the atrium and the sculpture astonishes the viewer. Had the enormous work been centered in the atrium, it might have produced an overwhelming sense of oppression or confinement. But by locating the nearest portion of the stabile some 40 feet (12.2 m) from the atrium’s east wall, Calder allowed viewers the necessary space and distance to take in the whole work.
The sculpture extends into the large north-south corridor (as tall as the atrium) that continues through the entire building. Most visitors probably experience the sculpture first from that corridor. They may notice it immediately on entering either the north or south doors, when one of the arch-shaped legs of the mountains appears to step out from the atrium into the corridor, or when one of the clouds enters or leaves the corridor’s air space.
Approaching Mountains and Clouds from the south entrance gives a different impression; one initially sees only two mountain peaks, and the highest seems to touch or merge into the lowest cloud form. From this perspective, it is the mountain-cloud unit that impresses.
Perhaps the most satisfying view is from the north. The work presents an open, more fully readable composition of two or three peaks with legs and clouds that seem to float in front of the mountains. There is a large circle cut through one of the mountain sheets, offering, from this view, needed relief from the massive stabile. The arch-shaped legs are reminiscent of flying buttresses and, like flying buttresses, they provide both support and aesthetic pleasure.
The walls of the atrium in which Calder’s mountains stand are pierced on many levels by balconies, windows, and walkways. Thus, the mountains may be climbed, in a sense, and each stage of the ascent offers different views–-indeed, different understandings–-of the mountains and the clouds. As in actual mountain climbing, the distant clouds gradually become looming clouds during the ascent, until eventually the climber stands above them.
Calder in his early years was famous for his Circus, in which his playful inventiveness found fulfillment in toy-sized sculptures. In his later years, his sculpture often seemed to aspire to the monumental condition of architecture. Throughout his life, he made sculptural equivalents of fish and whales and prehistoric animals, of birds and starry constellations. Mountains and Clouds is his grand final statement of elemental themes expressed in a powerful, space-transforming invention.
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
, located in the Hart Senate Office Building
Hart Senate Office Building
The Hart Senate Office Building, the third U.S. Senate office building, was built in the 1970s. First occupied in November 1982, the Hart Building is the largest of the Senate office buildings. It is named for Philip A. Hart, who served 18 years as a senator from Michigan.-Design and...
.
Background
The Hart Senate Office Building, first occupied in 1982 and named for MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
Senator Philip A. Hart, broke with tradition. Unlike its predecessors, the Hart Building boasted a contemporary, energy-efficient design that could accommodate a growing number of staff members and various technological innovations. The building’s centerpiece is a towering, asymmetrical 90 feet (27.4 m)-high atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
whose skylight brightens corridors and offices.
While the building was under construction, a panel of curators was charged with identifying potential sculptors and establishing criteria for the commission of a contemporary work to enliven the atrium. Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
and four other artists were invited to submit proposals. Calder was approached through his dealer, Klaus Perls
Klaus Perls
Klaus Gunther Perls was born in Berlin, Germany, where his parents were art dealers. He studied art history in Munich, but after the Nazis stopped granting degrees to Jews he moved to Basel, Switzerland and completed his studies...
, on July 29, 1975, just after his 77th birthday. A sketch and a model for Mountains and Clouds were submitted by November and, in April 1976, Calder’s innovative design was accepted.
Design and delays
On November 10 1976, Calder brought the Mountains and Clouds maquetteMaquette
A maquette is a small scale model or rough draft of an unfinished architectural work or a sculpture...
—his 20 inches (508 mm) sheet-metal model—to Washington, D.C., to present it to the Architect of the Capitol and finalize the placement of the piece. After making minor adjustments to two of the clouds, he expressed satisfaction with the maquette as positioned in a model of the atrium. This proved to be a final visit: Calder died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
that night after he returned to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Despite his death, the approval of the maquette and the siting of the work meant that fabrication of the full-sized sculpture could proceed. But in 1979, fabrication was delayed and nearly terminated when public funds for the sculpture were eliminated from the costly construction budget for the Hart Building.
Financial assistance materialized in 1982 through Senator Nicholas F. Brady
Nicholas F. Brady
Nicholas Frederick Brady was United States Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and is also known for articulating the Brady Plan in March 1989.-Early life:...
, who believed the Calder sculpture to be "the right work for the right place at the right time." As New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
’s senator for eight months—appointed to a vacancy pending election of a successor—Brady wished to present a gift to the Senate on his departure and offered to raise the needed funds. Together with art collector and philanthropist Paul Mellon
Paul Mellon
Paul Mellon KBE was an American philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame...
and former Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon
C. Douglas Dillon
Clarence Douglas Dillon was an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France and as the 57th Secretary of the Treasury...
, Brady formed the Capitol Art Foundation, which accomplished the task. The Calder sculpture was installed in the atrium of the Hart Building in 1986.
Appearance
Because the interior of the atrium presents a complex background of doors, windows, balconies and stairwells capped by a coffered ceiling, Calder stressed simplicity in the design of the sculpture. Similarly, because of the polished white marble that dominates the space, he decided on a matte black surface for the entire piece. The mountains–- the stabile–- are made up of four flat, angular steel plates with five mountain peaks among them and two archlike legs, one branching off the other. The clouds–- the mobile–- consist of four overlapping, curvilinear aluminum plates. In the absence of any air source to propel them, they are turned by a computer-controlled motor, which generates random patterns. Shortly after their installation, the clouds ceased to move when a mechanical problem with the design of the main bearing prevented the motor-driven shaft from turning the clouds. After an exhaustive inspection of the bearing system, the office of the Senate superintendent awarded a contract in October 2001 for the redesign and manufacture of a new bearing system that will again set the clouds in motion.The placement of Mountains and Clouds makes the sculpture part of the entire irregularly shaped public space of the building, not just part of the east atrium. Calder’s genius in positioning it led to the work’s great success. The atrium is directly entered from the east doors to the building. As one passes through a low lobby, only a section of the black steel sheets of the mountains appears, perceived as a virtually flat surface. The whole complex composition becomes apparent only when one reaches the junction of lobby and atrium. Suddenly, the full height of the atrium and the sculpture astonishes the viewer. Had the enormous work been centered in the atrium, it might have produced an overwhelming sense of oppression or confinement. But by locating the nearest portion of the stabile some 40 feet (12.2 m) from the atrium’s east wall, Calder allowed viewers the necessary space and distance to take in the whole work.
The sculpture extends into the large north-south corridor (as tall as the atrium) that continues through the entire building. Most visitors probably experience the sculpture first from that corridor. They may notice it immediately on entering either the north or south doors, when one of the arch-shaped legs of the mountains appears to step out from the atrium into the corridor, or when one of the clouds enters or leaves the corridor’s air space.
Approaching Mountains and Clouds from the south entrance gives a different impression; one initially sees only two mountain peaks, and the highest seems to touch or merge into the lowest cloud form. From this perspective, it is the mountain-cloud unit that impresses.
Perhaps the most satisfying view is from the north. The work presents an open, more fully readable composition of two or three peaks with legs and clouds that seem to float in front of the mountains. There is a large circle cut through one of the mountain sheets, offering, from this view, needed relief from the massive stabile. The arch-shaped legs are reminiscent of flying buttresses and, like flying buttresses, they provide both support and aesthetic pleasure.
The walls of the atrium in which Calder’s mountains stand are pierced on many levels by balconies, windows, and walkways. Thus, the mountains may be climbed, in a sense, and each stage of the ascent offers different views–-indeed, different understandings–-of the mountains and the clouds. As in actual mountain climbing, the distant clouds gradually become looming clouds during the ascent, until eventually the climber stands above them.
Calder in his early years was famous for his Circus, in which his playful inventiveness found fulfillment in toy-sized sculptures. In his later years, his sculpture often seemed to aspire to the monumental condition of architecture. Throughout his life, he made sculptural equivalents of fish and whales and prehistoric animals, of birds and starry constellations. Mountains and Clouds is his grand final statement of elemental themes expressed in a powerful, space-transforming invention.
Other information
- The stabile elements were constructed by the Segre Iron Works of Waterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, which was responsible for many of Calder's large outdoor pieces.