The shapes and colors in this painting are so simple and straight forward that your first impulse may be to label what you’re seeing. What is being depicted here? What is the artist trying to tell me? Must be something or else there would be more ambiguity, right? But notice that your efforts to interpret along these lines (lines !) fail. Granted, someone in class saw a black terrier. Now suppose you take that suggestion and think of the painting as being a depiction of a black terrier. Try. This will last you a second and then fizz away.
Imagine these shapes in soft pastel colors. You can even imagine them outlined in neat bold lines. What happens in your mind? Nothing.
The effect of this painting relies on high contrast colors. Because of the high contrast, you expect a statement. Your expectation is not fulfilled. Instead you see blocks of color applied with a pallet knife, leaving raggedy edges. Therein lies your pleasure in looking at this.
Painting in acylic, 36”x36,” by Janice Fleckman
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
artamaze by Katherine Hilden 