Alexander Calder - Stabile Man

I took the metro to St. Helen's Island on Sunday and strolled through Parc Jean-Drapeau to look at Alexander Calder's monumental sculpture Man/L'homme. It was the first day of spring and the bright sun reflected off the stainless steel structure against a clear blue sky. The sculpture was commissioned by the International Nickel Company of Canada for Expo 67, the Montreal World's Fair. The sculpture was created by the Société Biémont foundry in Tours, France. Calder originally called the work Three Disks, but he changed the name to Man/L'homme in honor of the theme of Expo 67, which was Man and His World/Terre des hommes. The sculpture is best known to today's generation of Montrealers as the location of the Piknic Électronik, the outdoor electronic dance party that's held each Sunday throughout the summer.