Helen Frankenthaler. 1963 C.E. New York (Detroit, MI.) Acrylic on canvas
The colors on the canvas don't have to represent something in particular, but can have a more ambiguous, emblematic quality for the viewer. The basic act of responding to color, the way one would respond to a sunset, or to light from a stained-glass window, simplicity and pure emotion through clarity of color and form.
The Bay; Helen Frankenthaler; c. 1963; Acrylic on canvas; Detroit, Michigan; Color Field paintings
Form:
- painted on unprimed canvas to better absorb the paint
- Uses a very runny paint
Function:
- Art for art's sake
- no set function or message being delivered
Content:
- Landscape is the base of the imagery
- There is not any depth like in earlier works
- very 2 dimensional looking
Context:
- color field painting
- very popular in the 1960's
- Helen Frankenthaler worked in an avant-garde New York school
