Introduction
Frank Stella is a prolific American painter working in the minimalist genre. His works display an array of skills and high technical mastery while also challenging the idea of art as a monolith. In particular, the present discussion will concern his “Black Painting” series – a collection of early paintings made by the man. To discuss the man’s work in detail while also gaining a deeper understanding of the Black Paintings, it is possible to see the paintings from the perspective of different critics. This work will summarize the ideas and thoughts of three different art critics regarding Frank Stella’s approach to painting and their appraisal of the black series in particular. As a result, it will be possible to gain an array of interpretations, impressions, and analyses about a single collection of art. In addition, my personal outlook on man’s art will also be featured. Critical review and scrutiny are two of the primary ways the public is able to interact with art, imbue it with meaning or note the lack thereof. The process is necessary in order to better understand the genre of abstract painting and art as a whole.
Critical Perspective
Virginia Spivey
First for review is the perspective of Virginia B. Spivey, a historian and educator who discusses Stella’s work in the context of the author’s intended meaning. Throughout her appraisal, Spivey details both the history of the artist, his intent, and his work process (Spivey, n.d.). All of the above work gives the reader the necessary context to interpret man’s art. In addition, most of Stella’s art is understood in active opposition to the genre of abstract impressionism, which seeks to fulfill goals diametrically opposite to his. Spivey’s appraisal paints Stella’s work as inherently lacking a sort of meaning people come to associate with art. Compared to his contemporaries and predecessors, the man chooses to actively distance himself from imbuing his art with a symbolic or emotional meaning, attempting to limit the range of possible interpretations. Using Strong lines, forms, and shapes in the Black Painting series, Stella presents art in its rawest form, a collection of colors on a canvas, all arranged into a specific order. Spivey compares Stella’s work with other minimalist art, highlighting its tendency to present abstract forms. The lack of a portrayed object, symbol, or any specific imagery seeks to separate art from the world it was created in. In this vein, Stella’s painting relies much less strongly on conveying an idea than on simply impressing the viewer with the man’s technical skills. Spivey presents Stella’s art career as an endeavor of erasing subjectivity while highlighting a simple marvel of painting and using provocative naming conventions.
Peter Schjeldahl
Schjeldahl of the New Yorker is the second person to discuss Stella’s art in the context of its meaning and appearance to the public. Like Spivey, Schjeldahl understands the Black Painting series and the others that come before it as a challenge to impressionism and artistic meaning. However, compared to Spivey, the man’s outlook is much more skeptical, calling into question the excessive coldness of Stella’s artistic method and the intent to avoid artistic meaning. For Schjeldahl, the man’s art presentation contradicts his central notion of “what you see is what you see” – by using provocative titles and avoiding any potentially recognizable shapes in favor of minimalism (Schjeldahl, 2015). In this vein, Schjeldahl highlights a contradiction between titles that have a subjective meaning to them and the paintings themselves, which are said to contain no deeper layers to them. The critic seems perplexed at the challenge of seeing or comprehending Stella’s art and makes a solid case as to why this might present a problem to viewers.
ARTDEX
The last notable evaluation of Frank Stella’s work comes from ARTDEX, an online platform for connecting artists and creating communities. For their discussion, the website writers, similar to previous critics, chose to highlight Stella’s journey towards separating art from meaning and the man’s own ideas about minimalism (ARTDEX, 2021). However, the source chooses to actively represent Stella’s art career as a path of simplicity taken to its peak, a perfection of technical mastery that came from practical knowledge. The Black Painting series, in this context, is the work that cemented Stella’s name in the art world and allowed the man to become a staple of both minimalism and impressionism. Compared to Schjeldahl or Spivey, ARTDEX’s writers are much less critical or skeptical of the man’s artistic legacy, instead choosing to display him as an important stepping stone and a famous creator. While the throughlines of a similar narrative shine in each of the reviews, the outlook they create as a result changes significantly depending on the writer’s focus.
My Personal Outlook
Having to examine and discuss Frank Stella’s art in comparison to his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors has given me the ability to form my own opinion on man’s art. I think that most of the sentiments shared by the critics regarding the Black Painting series are correct, with the art collection’s impressive display of technical skill being apparent. In addition, I think that Stella’s idea of what art is, or should be, is clearly demonstrated in his artistic direction and in the reception his art received. However, I must also agree with Schjeldahl, who was conflicted about the man’s place in modern art history. The intent and ideas of Stella’s work are clear, but their interpretation remains almost a complete mystery. In abstract art, a viewer’s personal relationship to a piece of work forms a major portion of their appreciation for it, and Stella’s effort of denouncing that feels almost useless. Despite his presented lack of meaning or any solid ideas expressed in the work, it is possible to read the Black Painting series’ existence in a cultural, historical, and philosophic context. Man’s insistence on using provocative titles further drives this effort and gives audiences a possible mode of interacting with Stella’s art, which practically goes against the man’s very artistic intent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that Frank Stella is a difficult artist to discuss or properly understand. The common critical sentiment agrees that his work bears an especially large impact on today’s minimalism and impressionism fields while also highlighting its signature simplicity. The work of art criticism most often thrives in finding a subjective understanding of art, using a medium of comparison or appraisal to judge art. However, the process of interpretation itself goes harshly against what Frank Stella stood for. It is impossible to fully gain a sense of what man’s art means in the public context.
References
ARTDEX. (2021). Frank Stella: In pursuit of ever-evolving experimentation.
National Gallery of Art. (n.d.). Frank Stella Black series I.
Schjeldahl, P. (2015). Frank Stella’s big ideas. The New Yorker.
Spivey, V. (n.d.). Frank Stella, the marriage of reason and squalor (article). Khan Academy.
“Chosenness” In Judaism Religion
In the religion of Judaism, there is a concept of “chosenness” – the belief that Jewish people are chosen to be the only nation worthy of being in a covenant with God. A covenant is a special kind of relationship with the Lord. In the Hebrew Bible, it is unclear why exactly Jewish people are “chosen”. However, this covenant indicates they are always innocent in God’s eyes if they follow the rules set in the Tora. This idea of “chosenness” that is described in the Hebrew Bible generates hostility between Jewish people and other faith groups.
Most monotheistic religions nowadays have a covenant-like relationship between the followers and their God, including Judaism. It is the only ancient religion that survived until today, perhaps because of this same covenant. It establishes a tight and intimate bond between the congregation and their God, which creates a sense of unity with each other and the universe. However, religious discourse suffers because of this idea of an exclusive relationship with a higher power. When claiming that Jewish people have a birthright to a special covenant with God, members of other religious groups may dismay since it directly conflicts with their understanding of faith entirely. It also undermines their unity with their congregation, God, and the universe. It is easy to see how this can result in hostility. For example, members of the Christian and Jewish religions disagree because of the differences between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Each claim to have a covenant with God and that their specific faith community is “chosen”. The history of the relationship between Jewish and people and Christians has been painful and, at times, violent.
Many conflicts have been started because of the concept of “chosenness” and its exclusivity. Undeterred by these differences between religious scripture and peoples understanding of it, it is incredibly important to maintain peace and civility among members of various religions.
Levine’s “The Overstory” Novel Analysis
If one is to refer to Caroline Levine’s definition of a form, The Overstory, as a novel, is a whole. Inside this whole, there is a multitude of other forms interacting with one another and structuring Powers’s (2018) narration. For one, the scene of Patricia’s testimony in the court is an excellent example of that: she confronts the network of law, one powerful form that forces her to obey. Patricia feels uncomfortable in the whole of a court room, being a part of a hierarchy, and knowing she is at the bottom of it. The fixed rhythm of continuous questions pressures her to delve deeper into her unique philosophy only to feel misunderstood. One might argue that she is unable to set her own rhythm of providing answers because she has to think before saying anything since Patricia knows her words can be used against her. Consequently, this mighty interweaving of forms that the situation presents creates a space in which Patricia feels weak and overwhelmed.
In a sense, Adam’s joining of the activist movement is him against the system just as much as Patricia. When applying Levine’s (2015) context to this passage, there is an established network, a part of which Adam’s friends want to make him. The ceremony of Adam’s joining has its own rhythm to it: starting with a song, it proceeds with words of dedication and ends with the making of a campfire. Adam is a part of a hierarchy, and is at its bottom, too; however, he becomes more of an equal to others as the night progresses. This connection of forms eventually makes Adam feel like he is a part of a whole and a kin. That distinguishes his situation from Patricia’s, who, because of the forms’ interactions in the court room, feels like a system’s enemy and an outsider. I believe that these two scenes demonstrate the ‘person vs. the juxtaposition of forms’ type of conflict, and this is why they are so important.
References
Levine, C. (2015). Forms: Whole, rhythm, hierarchy, network. Princeton University Press.
Powers, R. (2018). The overstory: A novel. W. W. Norton.