I think that at that time and practically ever since, the underlying sense of form in my work has been the system of the Universe, or part thereof. F… - Alexander Calder

The aesthetic value of these objects cannot be arrived at by reasoning. Familiarization is necessary.

In the Spring of 1926 I made some toy animals of curtain rods, broom handles, etc., and wire. Later, a few dolls, which I animated.... In the Winter of 1927–1928 I made some more toys for a friend to take home as gifts, and having shown them to De Creeft a Spanish sculptor with a very acute sense of humor, I was urged by him to make some more toys and to expose them at the . I did this and then began to make more elaborate toys, with articulation, in which the movements got more and more realistic, always adhering to the same basic materials. In this way I have developed quite an elaborate circus of which animation is one of the chief characteristics....

As truly serious art must follow the greater laws, and not only appearances, I try to put all the elements in motion in my mobile sculptures.