“I could do that” goes the refrain of philistines at modÂern art galÂleries, someÂtimes folÂlowed by a “Hell, my dog/cat/baby/elephant could do that!” SophisÂtiÂcates smirk knowÂing smirks. Oh no, sir or madam, they most cerÂtainÂly could not. But maybe everyÂone, at some levÂel, comes across Agnes Martin’s White Stone or Jo Baer’s UntiÂtled (White Square LavenÂder) and thinks it looks like someÂone “just took a tube of white paint and spread it on a canÂvas.”
It’s temptÂing to imagÂine, notes Vox in the explainÂer video above, but “it’s not actuÂalÂly that easy.”
Oh, realÂly? EnlightÂen us…. Why exactÂly did Robert Ryman’s all-white paintÂing Bridge sell for $20.6 milÂlion dolÂlars? This quesÂtion may be answered in anothÂer video. Here, we get a litÂtle bit of art history—on the oriÂgins of the all-white paintÂing in the minÂiÂmalÂism of KazÂimir MaleÂvich (he preÂferred to call it “SupreÂmaÂtism”) and the develÂopÂment of MinÂiÂmalÂism, capÂiÂtal “M.”
ElisÂaÂbeth SherÂman, assisÂtant curaÂtor at the WhitÂney MuseÂum in New York says that “white isn’t ever a pure thing, white is always tintÂed in some way.” Of course we know this, she acknowlÂedges, because we’ve marÂveled at the dozens of shades of white in the paint secÂtion of the hardÂware store. Attend to the subÂtle graÂdaÂtions of white, from warm to cool, and the range of texÂtures, lines, patÂterns, shapes, and “subÂtle intriÂcaÂcies,” and the all-white paintÂing begins to reveal itself as an almost livÂing, breathÂing thing rather than a piece of decÂoÂraÂtive dryÂwall.
Art hisÂtorÂiÂcalÂly, the variÂety of white paintÂings came about prinÂciÂpalÂly in the 50s as a response to Abstract Expressionism’s emoÂtionÂal excessÂes and the outÂsized gesÂturÂal perÂsonÂalÂiÂties of De KoonÂing and PolÂlock. Artists like Bauhaus alum Josef Albers and MinÂiÂmalÂist purist Frank StelÂla proÂposed that “the art object” should “be as far removed from the author as posÂsiÂble.” No greater an attack could be launched on the idea of art as perÂsonÂal expresÂsion than the all-white paintÂing.
This tenÂdenÂcy toward total abstraction—reducing art to fields of colÂor, non-colÂor, and simÂple shapes—has made a lot of peoÂple very upset. Vox includes sevÂerÂal clips of “men getÂting angry” at MinÂiÂmalÂist art. The word “preÂtenÂtious” pops up a lot. The all-white paintÂing has even inspired a play, YasÂmiÂna Reza’s Art, about “a group of lifeÂlong friends who are torn apart when one of them buys an all-white paintÂing for $200,000.”
As for “I could do that”… in nearÂly every show she’s worked on in her career as a curaÂtor, SherÂman remarks, “someÂone has said that.” Well, she says, yes, maybe you could. “But you didn’t.” So there. If lookÂing at an all-white paintÂing (or an all-black paintÂing) makes you feel angry, annoyed, or disÂmisÂsive, maybe, she says, try and get beyond that first impresÂsion and engage with the subÂtleties of the work. And maybe don’t ask how much the museÂum paid for it.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
HarÂvard Puts Online a Huge ColÂlecÂtion of Bauhaus Art Objects
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness
That’s an expenÂsive underÂcoat.
A flock of turkey-vulÂtures eatÂing a deer corpse in a flowÂery field on a rainy day. AmazÂing how well the artist capÂtured all of that on canÂvas, so lifeÂlike!
“But you didÂn’t” is the corÂrect answer. That said, the white paintÂings are bullÂshit, but if someÂone wants to pay 20 mil for one, kudos to the artist for getÂting away with it.
You have just ripped off the Vox video and added nothÂing new, no new opinÂion or insight. Just straight up plaÂgiaÂrism.