La Grande Vitesse
Encyclopedia
La Grande Vitesse, a public sculpture
by American
artist Alexander Calder
, is located on the large concrete plaza surrounding City Hall and the Kent County Building in Grand Rapids, Michigan
, United States
. The sculpture was the first public art work funded by the Art in Public Places program of the National Endowment for the Arts
(NEA). Fabricated in Tours, France and assembled on the plaza, the steel sculpture is 43 feet tall, 54 feet long, and 30 feet wide, and weighs 42 tons. It is painted in Calder's signature bright red
. The title is French for “the great swiftness”, which can also be translated as "grand rapids".
Calder’s design for La Grande Vitesse was consistent with other monumental sculptures he was commissioned to create during this period in his career. He dubbed these works “stabiles,” a counterpart to his mobiles
. Whereas a mobile’s motion is generated by air currents, a stabile activates a viewer’s motion. The sculpture is a popular gathering place for residents and tourists alike, and it is the centerpiece of the city’s annual Festival of the Arts
.
A panel of local officials and nationally recognized art experts selected Calder for the commission in 1967. After Calder was chosen and residents learned of his plans, a controversy ensued. Opponents wrote letters to the editor and created songs and cartoons deriding the sculpture, and advocates used the mayor’s bully pulpit and public service television to call attention to Calder’s credentials and vision. La Grande Vitesse was formally dedicated on June 14, 1969, and has since become a popular civic symbol.
The $128,000 cost of commissioning, fabricating, shipping, and installing the sculpture was shared by the NEA, local philanthropic foundations, area businesses, and individual citizens.
. The site features two black, rectilinear, curtain-walled buildings for City Hall and Kent County, surrounded by a concrete plaza. The construction and sculpture projects were part of a downtown urban renewal effort. The area is now known as Calder Plaza.
Public art
The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist 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,...
, is located on the large concrete plaza surrounding City Hall and the Kent County Building in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Michigan
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"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The sculpture was the first public art work funded by the Art in Public Places program of the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(NEA). Fabricated in Tours, France and assembled on the plaza, the steel sculpture is 43 feet tall, 54 feet long, and 30 feet wide, and weighs 42 tons. It is painted in Calder's signature bright red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
. The title is French for “the great swiftness”, which can also be translated as "grand rapids".
Calder’s design for La Grande Vitesse was consistent with other monumental sculptures he was commissioned to create during this period in his career. He dubbed these works “stabiles,” a counterpart to his mobiles
Mobile (sculpture)
A mobile is a type of kinetic sculpture constructed to take advantage of the principle of equilibrium. It consists of a number of rods, from which weighted objects or further rods hang. The objects hanging from the rods balance each other, so that the rods remain more or less horizontal...
. Whereas a mobile’s motion is generated by air currents, a stabile activates a viewer’s motion. The sculpture is a popular gathering place for residents and tourists alike, and it is the centerpiece of the city’s annual Festival of the Arts
Festival of the Arts
The Festival of the Arts, or simply Festival is a three day arts festival in Grand Rapids held on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of June. First held in 1970, after the 1969 installation of Alexander Calder's La Grande Vitesse, known as "The Calder" locally, Festival was quite small with...
.
A panel of local officials and nationally recognized art experts selected Calder for the commission in 1967. After Calder was chosen and residents learned of his plans, a controversy ensued. Opponents wrote letters to the editor and created songs and cartoons deriding the sculpture, and advocates used the mayor’s bully pulpit and public service television to call attention to Calder’s credentials and vision. La Grande Vitesse was formally dedicated on June 14, 1969, and has since become a popular civic symbol.
Historical information
After receiving the architectural plans and specified materials for the development of the site, Calder completed an 8-foot maquette in 1968, and began fabrication at the Biémont foundry in Tours, France later that year. The work was shipped in 27 pieces packed in wooden crates and assembled on-site over 5 days. According to project advocate Nancy Mulnix Tweddale, "It was all laid out like a jigsaw puzzle. It was fascinating for people to watch this big object grow before their very eyes. The sparks flew as the welders worked and then the vivid color was painted on. It was like outdoor theater."The $128,000 cost of commissioning, fabricating, shipping, and installing the sculpture was shared by the NEA, local philanthropic foundations, area businesses, and individual citizens.
Location
The Civic Center in which the sculpture is sited was designed by Chicago architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
. The site features two black, rectilinear, curtain-walled buildings for City Hall and Kent County, surrounded by a concrete plaza. The construction and sculpture projects were part of a downtown urban renewal effort. The area is now known as Calder Plaza.
See also
- Artists of other major public art works in Grand Rapids
- Mark di SuveroMark di SuveroMarco Polo "Mark" di Suvero is an American abstract expressionist sculptor born Marco Polo Levi in Shanghai, China in 1933 to Italian expatriates. He immigrated to San Francisco, California in 1942 with his family. From 1953 to 1957, he attended the University of California, Berkeley to study...
- Maya LinMaya LinMaya Ying Lin is an American artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She is the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Personal life:...
- Robert Morris (artist)Robert Morris (artist)Robert Morris is an American sculptor, conceptual artist and writer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent theorists of Minimalism along with Donald Judd but he has also made important contributions to the development of performance art, land art, the Process Art movement and installation...
- Mark di Suvero
- Other works by Calder
- Mercury Fountain
- FlamingoFlamingo (sculpture)Flamingo, created by noted American artist Alexander Calder, is a 53 foot tall stabile located in the Federal Plaza in front of the Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States...
- Mountains and CloudsMountains and CloudsMountains and Clouds is the name of a sculpture by Alexander Calder, located in the Hart Senate Office Building.- Background :The Hart Senate Office Building, first occupied in 1982 and named for Michigan Senator Philip A. Hart, broke with tradition...