Colour field painting

[vaneramos]

Untitled (Prismacolor)


In 1987 I graduated with a bachelor of science, but took another semester. One course was art studio. The instructor, a colourist, always wore complimentary colours like blue and orange. He told me I was a colourist, too.

Sometimes I use black-and-white photography for specific expressions, but can't restrain myself for long from the sensuality of colour.

At AGO on Friday I had mixed feelings about The Shape of Colour. The exhibit explored colour field painting, a 1960s offshoot of Abstract Expressionism championed by artists like Helen Frankenthaler and Jules Olitski. It lasted a decade.

Many works were too minimalist or arcane to engage my aesthetic sense. But the painting Echo (1964) by Canadian artist William Perehudoff reminded me strikingly of some of my own abstract drawings, particularly Waterspout (1999).

I had wanted to create a series.

In June I bought two small sketch books, 24 pages each, challenging myself to fill them this summer: unrealistic perhaps, but a useful provocation. I've made three drawings so far, two inspired by colour field painting. I'm also having fun with a gift dakoopst bought at the gallery, The Colour Game: a set of die-cut colour panels one can combine in multitudinous ways.





Waterspout 2 (Prismacolor)


A few colour field artists whose art intrigued me:

• Adolph Gottlieb
• Helen Frankenthaler (Tales of Genji III)
• Clyfford Still
• Jules Olitski
• Jack Bush
• Kenneth Noland
• William Perehudoff
• Sol LeWitt
• Robert Irwin
• Sam Gilliam
• Polly Apfelbaum
• Peter Halley
• Odili Donald Odita
• Diana Thater

Comments

[missprune.livejournal.com]

I love the Waterspout! What sort of medium is Prismacolor? My color fantasies were done in yarn, needleweaving tapestries. Color is ... God or something.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Prismacolor pencil. It was my choice of medium when the girls were little because it was easy to carry around and clean up quickly when necessary. But I came to love the vivid colours.

Cheers

[teddyb.livejournal.com]

Have you been to see the exhibition of colour field artists on in Toronto right now? I can't recall the details, but I recognized many of the names you cited as being included in the exhibition. I see ads for it every day on the subway. I'll try and get details on my next trip. I'm guessing it must be at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Ahhh, found a link to it:

http://www.toronto.com/profile/881532/

The Shape of Colour: Excursions in Colour Field Art, 1950 - 2005, at the AGO until Aug 7th.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Um, you must have scanned my post too quickly. That exhibit is what this post was about! ;-)

[teddyb.livejournal.com]

Sorry, you are right, I missed that. I thought it too coincidental that you would post on something that was being featured in an exhibition here, but when I read the post, I missed the reference to it. I just saw the images and your comments on them.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Although it wasn't all to my taste, the exhibit is informative and worth seeing if you're interested in abstract art.

[kwintt.livejournal.com]

These remind me of textiles for some reason. I can visualize them as tapestries on the wall or woven as fantastic magic carpets. I will look at some of your links, too. I had never heard of "color field" artists before ... fascinating

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated with quilt art, so your idea about the tapestry is rather compelling! Maybe I'll try making a Waterspout paper quilt.

[goldomega.livejournal.com]

I love the colors you chose in these two. I think I can relate to your mixed feelings about certain kinds of minimalist art. I have difficulty relating to most abstract paintings with purely primitive shapes or to very esoteric themes.

I enjoyed many of the examples of artists you gave. In particular, I enjoyed the quicktime panoramas of some of Diana Thater's wonderful multimedia displays.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thanks for visiting and commenting, and I'm glad you enjoyed the links.

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

Interesting list but, Odili Donald Odita isn't really a color field painter. I'm supposed to do an interview with him sometime soon. We've tried to schedule some time in the past but, it hasn't worked out so far. But, he and I have talked on a few occasions. Robert Irwin is a VERY interesting person. He's had a very charmed Calif. life... so he said in a video I used for teaching. Jules Olitski lived in Florida for a while but, recently one of Miami's land developers and major art collectors with his own exhibition space, had an exhibition of Olitski's paintings. I wasn't able to see it but, I'm familiar with his paintings.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Yes, I should have mentioned that not all the artists listed here are colour field painters. They were included in the exhibit because their work either is influenced by or makes reference to the movement.

Robert Irwin's convex disc painted with lacquer, only hints of colour set off by dramatic lighting, was the most compelling piece in the show.

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

Irwin used light in ways that can only be understood by spending time out in the desert where it's flat and the sky takes on its extremely dominant role in our vision. That's one of the reasons James Turrell has his major life project there, although in Arizona. http://www.rodencrater.org

When I lived in L.A. I used to drive out to the desert because it was just totally amazing. My experiences out there still are an influence in the way that I look at the landscape. It's so different than Florida but, there are things that I love about both places... I should say also that Arizona & New Mexico are different than the Calif. desert near Palm Springs where I used to go and I love all three places.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

As a naturalist I'm keenly aware of how spending time in a place teaches one the special qualities of light and atmosphere that characterize it. I've never experienced a desert in my life, but one of my life's ambitions is to do so. Having corresponded with two or three nature writers who lived in Arizona and described its diverse flora and fauna, I'm particularly interested in travelling there.

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

I just got an email from Odita this morning. He's in Europe until next month. We're gonna try for another interview attempt then. :-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated to learn more about his work. His painting on display in the exhibit seemed to be a landscape (it was the only one, other than Diana Thater's video), and looking at more of his work online I can see that's the intention. In fact his work reminds me of some of the Group of Seven's paintings (example). Loving both landscape and abstract drawing the way I do, I would like to find my own way of meshing the two.

[nine-ah.livejournal.com]

Hi Van!
I really love what you are doing here! I love the concept of the color field and never really new there was an actual theory or group behind it! Thanks for opening up another chapter in my small artist life! I want to research some of the artists you have listed.

Great job!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm always pleased to stir up interest and inspiration. :-)

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

Van, is it possible to edit part of this post for my art blog? I think it would be kewl to share with my other audience. Names will be changed to protect the innocent. :-) Seriously, what's going on at the AGO is of interest to many, me included, and your voice is a rarely heard one. Please. :-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. What would you like to do? The main body of this post was written to fit my 200-word daily format. If it is too concise, I could add further comments or respond to any questions you might have.

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

I'll cut-and-paste it there. Thanks... including your drawing.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Alright! I'll watch for it.

[avad.livejournal.com]

love Polly Apfelbaum !!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Her "Gun Club" covered the floor of an entire room at the exhibition:

http://www.ago.net/info/ago_exhibitions/exhibition_large.cfm?ID=2740

It was amazing!