Mack Stewart, Flight Formation

Flight Formation at first glance seems simple yet is quite complex. In a composition of colored squares, Stewart utilizes multiple color schemes while keeping the same hue of light blue a constant. It is intriguing to see how the blue appears to change in relationship to its surrounding colors, whether it’s next to yellow, orange, or green. Stewart is illuminating the visual phenomenon of simultaneous contrast; this phenomenon occurs when two colors side by side change our perception of the how we see those colors in context. We usually don’t see colors isolated. A hue’s brightness or intensity and value can appear different next to surrounding colors. The German born, American artist, Joseph Albers also did many experiments with simultaneous contrast and wrote about it in his book, Interaction with Color. Experiment with simultaneous contrast yourself by observing the display with the viewing windows, then use the swatches of colored paper to arrange different color combinations, keeping the color in front the same and changing out the background colors. After testing simultaneous contrast, please place the color swatches back into the envelopes.  

Flight Formation ArtSpace activity

James Hart, Crosstown Traffic
(Four Way Stop)

In Four Way Stop, we see rectangular dots on a red background. The dots are short consistent brushstrokes. Each brushstroke has a gradient from white to green. There also appears to be an underlying pattern that is recognized through the relationships of foreground and background; this is similar to the group of artists who experiment with optical illusions known as Op Art. Also like the Op Art, Hart has used the complimentary colors of red and green to intensify the perception of the pattern. It’s as though the artist is directing the viewer’s eyes with the placement of the green half of the dot. Can you see the shape of the overall composition? Study this painting closely, then with the strips of colored gradients and construction paper, try making a small collage version of your own. Play with the direction of the colored gradient to direct the viewer’s eye to see a shape or pattern.

Crosstown Traffic (Four Way Stop) ArtSpace Activity

Larry Calcagno, Planets II

On whatever range of abstraction Calcagno’s paintings resonate for you, the suggestion of landscape is continually present. Artists have been inspired by the horizon for generations. Our own landscape in the Texas panhandle is ripe for interpretations by abstract artists. Georgia O’Keeffe is one famous painter that made abstractions inspired by the southwest landscape. Calcagno like O’Keeffe, spent time in the southwest and had a studio in Taos, New Mexico. Closely examine Calcagno’s use of color and composition and how these elements work together to convey a sense place. Now consider the landscape that typically surrounds you. What colors and compositions could you use to convey the feeling of your familiar landscape? Use the construction paper and colored pencils to create a mixed media collage of an abstract design inspired by the landscape.

Planets II ArtSpace Activity

Thomas Sills, Home

In contrast to the hard edges and straight lines of much of modern abstract painting, Thomas Sills’ lines are organic and lyrical, a type of painting coined as biomorphic abstraction. The term biomorphic comes from the Greek words bios, meaning life and morphic meaning form. Sills’ approach to painting was also in dialog with Color Field painting, which focused on the emotional impact of color. Color Field painters are known for using subtle tonal variations of the same color, often choosing to use monochromatic and analogous color schemes. For example, in the painting Home, red is a common color that is tinted with white to arrive at two other shades of pink. Then similarly, in the center of the painting are two shapes using yellow as a common color. Try bringing these two approaches together like Thomas Sills by creating a mixed media collage that uses a biomorphic composition and a color scheme inspired by the Color Field movement. You may use the color wheel to help choose your monochromatic or analogous color schemes.

Home ArtSpace Activity

Franz Kline, Red, Black and Orange

Kline was one of the original key figures of the New York School which developed into the Abstract Expressionist movement. Kline along with other New York artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning established their approach to Abstract Expressionism as Action Painting or painting created by a culmination of expressive gestures. In Red, Black and Orange, 1960, the gestures are a combination of brush strokes and paint spread on the canvas with a palette knife. The background and foreground mix together and there is a push and pull between the gestures of color. Discover this push and pull effect for yourself by creating a mixed media abstract expressionist collage. Use torn pieces of construction paper as expressive gestures and layer them to play with the relationships between background and foreground.

Red, Black, and Orange ArtSpace Activity

Arnold Schmidt, Small Red and Blue Circles with Radiations

As one of the earliest Op Artists, Arnold Schmidt applied many of the techniques that instilled the movement in the 1960s and 70s. Op Art explored the perception of colors and patterns that produce effects that confuse and excite the eyes. They would often use complimentary color schemes and black and white for the most dramatic effects. A deliberate separation of background and foreground and hard-edged borders are also key for producing the desired illusory effects. Looking at Small Red and Blue Circles with Radiations, we see the red circle right away in the center. The blue circle is discovered in the negative space of the red lines radiating from the center. The blue and red color combination along with the careful separation of background and foreground create an illusory effect that makes the painting seem to pulsate and move. For Schmidt and many of the Op Artists, creating images with forms, lines and hard edges was made easier with masking tape. Try creating your own Op Art collage or drawing. You may use the masking tape to block off areas of negative space, then color in the positive space. Afterwards, release the tape to reveal a crisp hard edge. You may also use the tape as a collage element and simply apply it to a colored background.         

Small Red and Blue Circles with Radiations ArtSpace Activity

Helen Frankenthaler, Study for a Billboard / James Brooks, Cusper

Helen Frankenthaler and James Brooks were both first generation abstract expressionists and two of the first innovators to pour paint directly on the surface of their paintings. Puddles, stains and drips of varied hues and textures occupied their canvases in compositions that happened spontaneously. Looking at the two works by each artist displayed, we see that large areas of space are filled with forms that look fluid and open; allowing the paint to exist on its own. The abstract expressionists celebrated the material of paint and the process of applying it to the surface. For obvious reasons, we cannot recreate pouring and dripping paint in the ArtSpace. However, we can celebrate the fluid, drippy quality of paint by cutting out drips, puddles and other fluid shapes of colored construction paper. Theses shapes can be arranged in a composition that looks as soothing and effortless as the work of Frankenthaler and Brooks.

Study for a Billboard / Cusper ArtSpace Activity

Elaine de Kooning, Bull

While she was devoted to the Abstract Expressionist movement, Elaine remained a figurative painter. She explored the same topics as her contemporaries such as: expressive gestures, creating from the unconscious, and individual freedom all through subjects informed by her real life. She painted her friends and her surroundings. After a trip to Mexico, Elaine began a series of drawings and paintings inspired by the bullfight. De Kooning captured the energy of the deadly dance between bull and matador. In this lithograph, Bull, Elaine has isolated the bull as the subject. Her broad energetic gestures collide as a mass of movement to form the large proportions of her wild subject. For this activity, practice observational gesture drawing. Take a moment to look closely at the cow skull or the small deer skull. Feel free to move the drawing bench to your desired view (Please don’t touch the props). Try simplifying the forms of the skulls into broad planes and big shapes. Look carefully and draw loosely. Perhaps try different gestures of scribbles or even try using the side of the crayon for broader marks.

Bull ArtSpace Activity