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The Calder-Picasso show at the de Young is a visual delight. The works on display look great individually and together coalesce into a magical environment.
Calder's fly along, bobbing on shaped delicate wires, delighting with primary colors in graceful, unpredictable motion. Picasso's are strong, passionate, earthy, focussed on the inner self. They look as if he stepped up to his easel and let his passions rip. But, not at all. All of Picasso's works started classically: with study of the great artists in museums, knowledge of classic themes throughout history and countless preliminary drawings.
The show takes viewers back to the early and mid twentieth century when both Calder and Picasso did their most revolutionary - and freshest - work. One of my favorite art eras so I thoroughly enjoyed feeling close to those artistically alive times. To my mind though the show's signage is too much technical 'art speak' trying to convey how radical the works were when they were first introduced. That's a visual feeling thing, and to really get it she wishes she could have seen the exhibit at its original venue, The Picasso Museum in Paris:
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