Calder Playing Cards
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Alexander Calder, Poker, 1974
Pulled from the work of Alexander Calder
A tribute to one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century
Hidden within plain site
Playable Art
Each letter, number, and suit (spade, heart, club, and diamond) was carefully clipped from a
series of over forty vivid gouache paintings from the 1970s known as the Card Player series. In
these works, Calder depicts sharply dressed poker players around a card table, reviewing their
hands and placing bets; oversized depictions of the cards in play float within the compositions.
Almost 100 unique playing cards are illustrated, with variations on the layouts, shapes, and
colors of a traditional deck.
All the cards in the Calder Playing Card set are based on the series, pulling completely rendered
designs where available, and using the artist’s hand drawn suits to match existing compositions
where a card was missing, or partially covered. Even the motif on the back of the cards—a thick
black outline and blue striping—has been pulled directly from Calder’s gouaches. Players are
encouraged to use the unexpected 12 of Spades and 16 of Diamonds as true wild cards
(whether they stand in as a Joker or a second Queen of Spades, for example, is up to the
player).
Thinking like Calder
Since court cards were not included in the original images, the faces for the Jacks, Queens, and Kings were extracted from another series of gouaches that Calder painted around the same period and feature groupings of motifs and symbols characteristic of his visual language. All letters and numbers are in Calder’s own handwriting, sourced from the original paintings
whenever possible.
Image: Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1970
Thinking like Calder
Since court cards were not included in the original images, the faces for the Jacks, Queens, and Kings were extracted from another series of gouaches that Calder painted around the same period and feature groupings of motifs and symbols characteristic of his visual language. All letters and numbers are in Calder’s own handwriting, sourced from the original paintings
whenever possible.
Image: Alexander Calder, Snake, Pinwheel and Spiral, 1973
The four Aces mimic a traditional European format, depicting the Aces with their historically low numeral value of "1". The Ace of Spades, in homage to Calder, was left with an A. In gameplay, they are the same
Overview
Calder Playing Cards
One of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Alexander Calder (1898–1976) disrupted traditional boundaries in art with his suspended abstract mobiles and his monumental stabiles. Removing sculpture from the pedestal, he invited viewers to experience his art directly, a concept that extends to his performative pieces, furniture design, jewelry, and even his paintings.
Calder Playing Cards are based on a set of vivid gouache paintings from the 1970s known as the Card Player series. Many of the cards are direct reproductions from those paintings, with the striped back also pulled from them. All letters and numbers are in Calder’s own handwriting.
Since court cards were not included in the original images, the faces for the Jack, King, and Queen were extracted from another series of gouaches that Calder painted around the same period.
Every detail of this deck was faithfully reproduced to celebrate the enduring legacy of Calder, the iconic master of innovation in art.
Alexander Calder, Art of Play
Art of Play
United States
Above all, art should be fun.
Art Icon
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (b. 1898, Lawnton, Pennsylvania–d. 1976, New York City), whose illustrious career spanned much of the twentieth century, is the most acclaimed and influential sculptor of our time. Born in a family of celebrated, though more classically trained artists, Calder utilized his innovative genius to profoundly change the course of modern art. He began in the 1920s by developing a new method of sculpting: by bending and twisting wire, he essentially “drew” three-dimensional figures in space. He is renowned for the invention of the mobile, whose suspended, abstract elements move and balance in changing harmony. From the 1950s onward, Calder increasingly devoted himself to making outdoor sculptures on a grand scale from bolted steel plate. Today, these stately titans grace public plazas in cities throughout the world.
—
Calder with Snow Flurry I (1948). Photograph by Gordon Parks © The Gordon Parks Foundation, Pleasantville. © 2024 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Produced by Art of Play in close collaboration with
the Calder Foundation, New York.
All works by Alexander Calder © 2024 Calder Foundation, New York.
Calder® is a registered trademark of Calder Foundation, New York
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