Painting for the experience
Frank Stella at the Whitney Museum of American Art BY ST E PH A N I E B U H M A NN Fewer than three weeks into its run at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Frank Stella’s retrospective has already been widely reviewed by the media. With over 60 works — some of them massive — filling its entire fifth floor, it is the perfect project to highlight the museum’s new lofty premises. Although often too closely installed, the many paintings, wall reliefs, maquettes, free standing sculptures and a few drawings provide insight into Stella’s versatile, nearly six decade-spanning oeuvre. As one of the most influential American artists working today, he certainly deserves such attention. And yet, what is interesting about the extensive coverage that this exhibition heralds is its common tenor: it is still Stella’s early work that remains the most universally revered and better understood. Even Stella himself has noted in the recent past that his so-called “striped” paintings might be the best he has ever painted. In fact, it was his Black Paintings that put him on the map. Works such as “Die Fahne hoch!” (1959) are straightforward compositions, which assemble even stripes of house paint into parallel geometric movements. They are often described as emotionally detached, and considered a historic bridge between the romantically charged Abstract Expressionist works of Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline and the Minimalism of Donald Judd or Carl Andre. “What you see is what you see,” Stella once remarked about these works — but that is too simple a description. It is true that they focus on the surface and do not veil a hidden mystique, but they are also elegant contemplations of rhythm. In that, the austere aestheticism of their vocabulary pulses with life within. In the early 1960s, Stella applied the concept of the Black Paintings to compositions based on aluminum radiator paint, which Pollock before him had used to strong effect as well. In works like “Union Pacific” (1960), the reflective silver surface makes for subtle plays with light. Depending on the viewer’s position, it either shimmers or appears somewhat muted. The paint handling DowntownExpress.com
Photo by Ronald Amstut courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art
Installation view, with “The Blanket (IRS-8, 1.875X)” at far left and “The Whiteness of the Whale (IRS-8, 1.875X)” at far right.
enhances this effect: Stella changed the angle of his brush as he turned corners, allowing the light to reflect differently and to animate the surface. Both the Black Paintings and the Aluminum Paintings keep the viewer at a distance, encouraging them to be studied from afar. They manifest as statements rather than transformative experiences and this quality is characteristic for all of Stella’s work. The paintings and sculptures are created and meant for their own sake, and especially for the experience of making them. They are not intended to become catalysts for something emotional or spiritual. Born in 1936 to first-generation Sicilian immigrants, Stella grew up in a suburb of Boston. In 1954, he entered Princeton University, where he studied with the painter Stephen Greene, among others, and created gestural works with a muted palette that, above all, celebrated the spirit of Abstract Expressionism. After graduating in 1958, Stella settled on the Lower East Side of New York, where he soon acquainted himself with some of the major artists of
© 2015 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
“Harran II” (1967. Polymer and fluorescent polymer paint on canvas. 120 x 240 in. / 304.8 x 609.6 cm).
the scene. At this point he became especially taken by Jasper Johns’ flag paintings. In this context, Stella managed to rise quickly. In 1959, he joined Leo Castelli Gallery, which also represented Johns, and exhibited in “Sixteen Americans” at the Museum of Modern Art (1959-1960). He became a bona fide shooting star to the extent that
the Museum of Modern Art organized a survey of his work in 1970 when he was not even 35 years old. Despite this early success, he managed to stay clear of wanting to please and meet others’ expectations. In fact, his work has so continuously and WHITNEY Continued on page 28
November 19 – December 2, 2015
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