Reflective and Comparative Analysis
Kirby Miles
Upon being given this assignment I immediately had my two favorite paintings at the Hunter Museum in mind. Helen Frankenthaler's Around the Clock in Red and Paul Jenkins' Phenomena Royal Violet Visitation were my obvious choices. I not only wanted to give my reaction and perspective on these pieces, but I also wanted to shed light on how others perceived these pieces. I dedicated a couple of hours and went to the Hunter Museum, I then chose a location near both of these paintings and simply observed. I watched the faces of people as they viewed the paintings for the first time, and studied them as they went in to analyze the painting. This proved, for me anyway, to be the most valuable part of the experience. I could and have done some research on both of these artists, but it is their respective intentions in their pieces that are given to the world. The viewer and how they perceive a piece is paramount to understanding intention.
Paul Jenkins, Phenomena Royal Violet Visitation, 1977, Acrylic on canvas - photographed in situ at the Hunter Museum of American Art.
First, I observed people's reaction to the Jenkins piece. What I noticed first is the public's prolific need to act as if this piece is a pair of wings. They posed repetitively in the middle of the two forms in the painting. That was the most apparent reaction. Most people prefer to stand back from this piece, and actually become visually uncomfortable upon moving closer to it. People in groups often formed a semicircle around the piece to view it. Most people, unless taking a photo did not commit to examining this piece up close. Another thing I found interesting about the reactionary element to this piece is that people alone tended to glance at it and maybe stay looking at it only for a couple of minutes. People in groups tended to view the piece longer, some for twenty minutes. Lone people would literally glance behind their shoulders from across the room at this painting as if they felt threatened by its existence.
My personal experience with this painting has evolved since the first time I viewed it. I had an extreme aversion to this piece at first. I believed it to be too ostentatious, too vibrant, and too intimidating. It is displayed on a stark white wall, and in the composition itself- the negative space is transformed into a pristine void that seems to be wholly separate from the white of the displaying wall. The colors seem to appear in the bottom middle of the composition from chaos. They are spread upward and outward and the actual hue and vibrancy of the color is not apparent until these paints have been thinned and manipulated upward and outward. Upon my own morbid curiosity, I delved deeper into this painting visually. I scrutinized it in every way possible in my mind, and the peculiar thing is that I actually began to like the piece. The colors seemed, instead of being lesser or manipulated became liberated from a void. This piece began to speak to me as the painting process itself. The use of the word 'phenomena' in the title also speaks to me as to something ephemeral and fleeting. The colors mimic this name well, as the
movement of the piece indicates a transitory action and actually do resemble wings.
- photographed in situ at the Hunter Museum of American Art.
Secondly, I observed people viewing the Frankenthaler's piece. This was a vast contrast from the way people viewed the Jenkins piece. People would come in and walk directly up to this piece. If they photographed it, they photographed only details. People were extremely drawn to the texture of the piece. They simulated what action they thought would result in the forms on the canvas. This piece was surprisingly interactive with its viewers. People were not afraid to get as close as they could to the canvas- I even observed about a dozen people touching it and running their hands along its surface.
I've loved this piece since the first day I saw it. It's a visual playground. The porous surface of the canvas mixed with the inherent opacity and lack thereof of the paint creates a nice dichotomy. The forms created in this piece are almost representational but refrain themselves at the last moment and remain abstract. The piece elicits an emotion of freedom and unbinding exploration. The red tone in relation to the white gallery wall amps up the visual pleasure of this piece and frames the piece nicely. This piece is similar to size to the Jenkins' piece, but seems larger than life.
I chose these specific pieces to create an interesting comparison of the space used. Jenkins creates a bold statement with his two primary colored forms and that form against his void of white is almost sublime. Frankenthaler creates a playful and process based piece that insights people to touch and to think about the actual process of painting.
Both of the pieces are thought provoking and some of the most talked about at the museum.
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