The interactive mobile on Google’s home page today, in honor of artist Alexander Calder’s 113th birthday, got me thinking about Calder’s work on film, particularly Jean Painlevé’s film, “Le Cirque.” More performance piece than documentary, the short nevertheless captures Calder’s vigorous approach to art of every kind. Watch him “paint with shapes,” as he once said.

Calder’s mobiles have inspired countless other animators (Painlevé was also an animator, in fact) and today’s animation on Google is a fitting tribute to the simplicity and clarity of his forms. It also sways when you tilt your laptop.