Friday, February 24, 2012

Hard Edge Abstraction


I gotta say I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of doing a "hard-edge abstraction" piece for class. I tend towards gutsy expressionism, letting the paint go where it pleases and laying it on thick gushy in some areas, and thin and drippy and delicate in others, letting the paint take on a life of its own and speak for itself. So when the teacher gave us a lecture on hard-edge abstractionists, and about how meticulous and strategic their paintings are, I was lacking in enthusiasm. I decided to take a minimalist approach instead of a crazy intricate, Frank Stella approach.  And so these floaty, hovering triangles were born. I can't say this painting isn't gutsy in its own way, though. Apparently I have to tone down the background because of how crazy thick I laid it on. And if you see the triangles in person, you'd be able to see how even thicker than the background paint is, so thick that they appear to be their own objects sitting on top of the painting. 

Oh well. As the saying goes, you can take the girl out of expressionism, but you can't take expressionism out of the girl.... or something along those lines.

No comments: