In 1957, Calder was commissioned to make a monumental work for the International Arrivals Building of Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) by the Port Authority of New York. “People think monuments should come out of the ground, never out of the ceiling, but mobiles can be monumental too,” Calder said of the project, “I made three models to scale, 17 inches wide. The one that was bought had to be blown up to forty-five feet wide.” The sculpture, titled .125 after the gauge of the aluminum elements, now hangs over the departures hall in Terminal 4.
[Image: Calder reviewing the installation of .125, Idlewild Airport, 1957. © 2017 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York]
Artwork details:
Date: 1957
Media: Sheet metal, rod, and paint
Dimensions: 25′ × 45′ × 17′
Collection: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, John F. Kennedy International Airport
Hanging Mobile, Monumental Sculpture
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