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Robert Motherwell and Jasper Johns: Poetic Works as Metaphor
An exhibition of forty-six (46) lithographs, etchings and
aquatints, each produced with a relationship to poetry,
some of which is a direct attempt at interpretation while
other works completely void of any direct relationship between
the poet and painter.
"Much
of Motherwell's life was spent thinking about how and why
man creates. Eventually, he understood that his own practice
of painting was grounded in a set of beliefs, tested in
the act of painting, and not easily translated into words."
---Dore
Ashton
"Motherwell, The Painter's Life As A Banquet"
in Motherwell
FUNDACIO ANTONI TAPIES, BARCELONA, 1996.
Robert
Motherwell, pioneer and principal exponents of Abstract
Expressionism and Jasper Johns, one of the leaders responsible
for the breakthrough from Abstract Expressionism to the
types of Pop art and Minimal art, which succeeded it, are
closely examined here for their serious intellectual tone
and philosophical concerns with reference to issues that
serve to help interpret their works.
The
fifty prints included in this exhibition, nineteen (19)
lithographs by Motherwell and thirty-one (31) etchings by
Johns relate to their literary collaborations with writers.
The works are veined with curious references to their outlook
and philosophy. Both artists have been a dominant force
in the development and maturation of twentieth century contemporary
art, and both show recurring themes in their work: cross-hatching,
flagstones, casts/slats, and numbers for Johns; Zen-like
calligraphic images for Motherwell plus three works in Chine
collé.
Robert
Motherwell was the only member of the first generation Abstract
Expressionist to create a large body of prints. From the
mid-1960s until his death in 1991, Motherwell produced etchings
and lithographs that reflected the expressive nature of
his art, his fascination with paper and collage, and his
passion for the written word.
"I
have attempted to develop my thinking in such a way that
the work I've done is not me-not to confuse my feelings
with what I produced. I didn't want my work to be an exposure
of my feelings. Abstract Expressionism was so lively-personal
identity and painting were more or less the same, and I
tried to operate the same way. But I found I couldn't do
anything that would be identical with my feelings. So I
worked in such a way that I could say that it's not me.
That accounts for the separation."
--Jasper
Johns
Jasper
Johns is arguably acknowledged as the greatest printmaker
of our time. The intaglios that he produced in the 1960s
at ULAE (Universal Limited Art Editions, NY), created a
revival in the art of etching.
[Each
of the works in this exhibition are appropriately framed
and supported with bilingual interpretive wall labels--English/Spanish
and English/French--with introduction wall text. An illustrated
catalog with essay accompanies the exhibition.]
