Blackpaint 90

What is happening?? WordPress seems to have gone nuts.  will try again tomorrow, but today unable to download pictures and system keeps logging me out.  Just words today, I’m afraid.

Asger Jorn

Writing about Jorn yesterday, it occurred to me that the Tate Modern should follow up the Van Doesburg show with something wild by way of contrast – The CoBrA lot, especially Jorn, Appel and Constant, for example.  Lots of slatched-on, swirling colours, little demon heads emerging out of the murk – would make a lovely contrast to the squares, triangles and DISCIPLINE of Mondrian, VD et al.  Or maybe some of the wilder Abstract Expressionists; Gotz, Shiraga, even Joan Mitchell…  Then again, I’d love to see some Hans Hoffmans, Eva Hesse, Helen Frankenheimer..

Ad Reinhardt

A while back, I quoted Reinhardt’s aphorism: “Art is art.  Everything else is everything else”.  That was in 1958; in the early 60’s, he expanded the original – “Art is art-as-art.  Everything else is everything else.  Art-as-art is nothing but art.  Art is not what is not art.”  From 1954 until his death in 1967, he painted in various shades of black, so, writing as Blackpaint, I have to declare Reinhardt as a hero.  I fear I will never achieve his focus and clarity of purpose, however.  And his brother Django was a brilliant guitarist, of course.

I can’t see whether this picture has downloaded properly, but will publish anyway.

Blackpaint

18.03.10

Tags: Ad Reinhardt, Asger Jorn, Constant, Gotz, Hans Hoffman, Helen Frankenthaler, Karel Appel, Shiraga, Van Doesburg