Friday, May 7, 2010

BEFORE reading the Abstract chapter


A page from the book

I'm  reading a book called Frameworks for Modern Art, edited by Jason Gaiger, published by Yale University Press and the Open University. It's an academic text and it's not easy reading, but I hope to learn from it. I'm about to start Chapter 3 which is called "Abstract art: reading Barnett Newman's Eve." I've never studied Barnett Newman's work before so this could be a good introduction. Eve is a huge flat red painting with a narrow strip of darker red down one side. I confess I'm on the sceptical side, not about abstract art in general, which needs no defense, but rather about Newman's paintings, which seem to me rather featureless. Will reading the chapter change my mind? I should have some idea in about a week, watch this space.

Related post: AFTER reading the Abstract chapter

1 comment:

The bike shed said...

Now I really like Newman's paintings, but they are so much better in 'real life' than in books, where the scale and vibrancy just doesn't come across