While flipping through this issue, I'm noticing several works that we have studied in class. So I must admit, for this first journal entry, I'm going to play it somewhat safe and read further into works that are recognizable to me because of our class, such as the Minimalist art of Robert Morris and Donald Judd, and the Conceptual art of Walter de Maria.
The first article I'm going to read is "Jo Baer, Modernism, and Painting on the Edge" by Patricia Kelly. Kelly makes it known that the focus of this article is that "Baer's canvases promised the disinterested spectator participatory engagement, a tactic associated as much with performative practices as with the theatricality of Minimal art." Now I'm seeing why Donald Judd and Robert Morris works are included in this article. Apparently, the introduction of Minimalism, which was founded partly on the demise of painting, placed Judd and Robert in a situation of tension with Baer, who defended the currency and life of painting, and critiqued Minimalism. I'm also learning that although Baer aligned slightly with Clement Greenberg, she could not completely identify with his perspective because of her desire to radicalize contemporary painting. However, Baer was able to depart from Greenberg's legacy because it began to decline in influence by the 1960s, the decade in which Baer attempted to radicalize painting.
Reading this article is actually becoming really interesting, and I'm learning a lot that relates back to our class lectures. Baer's Stations of the Spectrum (Secondary) (1967-69) consists of three flat, gray canvases that are arranged horizontally. Each canvas has a black border and a thin color border (orange, purple, and yellow). However, the color of the color border seems to possess a different appearance depending on where the viewer stands, the angle of his or gaze, the lighting in the gallery, etc. I'm learning that although her focus on the experience of the spectator influenced by the spectator's body connected her to Minimalism, she also distanced herself from Minimalism by continuing to develop the concept of modern painting. Also, something that I find very interesting is that Baer contested Minimalism not just through certain aspects of her work, but also through writing critiques of Minimalism and by writing letters to certain Minimalist artists, such as Morris, about her concern for the future of painting because of Minimalist art's rejection of painting.
I'm really enjoying reading about how Baer radicalized painting. Basically, she brought science, biology or anatomy more specifically, into her paintings and demonstrated an understanding of how science has the power to influence the viewer's perception of a work of art. This relationship between science and painting is exemplified in Untitled (White Square Lavender) (1964-74), a painting that contains a large white field inside a lavender border inside a black border, and also happens to be the cover of this issue of Art Journal. This painting maximizes on two scientific theories in its ability to invoke the unique perception of each viewer: Mach Bands and retinal glare and scattering. To begin with, retinal glare and scattering adds luminance to the color band creating the illusion of the white rectangle moving beyond its boundaries. And Mach Bands, theorized by Austrin physicist Ernst Mach in 1865, creates even more luminosity in the lavender band because it is situated between areas of white and black, which contrast greatly. Because of this painting and its ability to create tension between how the artist paints the canvas and how the viewer sees the painting, it seems logical for Baer to have asserted that "a radical redefinition of current painting is pertinent and possible."
Ultimately, Baer ended up kind of blacklisted. Artforum refused to even review her work for submission because of her letter to Morris, and Greenberg rejected her work despite the fact that he was looking for the next new development in modern painting. Baer acknowledged this blacklisting and said that she knew she was going to get in trouble for not keeping quiet, but she felt that speaking out was the right thing to do.
It's taken so much time to look and mull over this article, that I'm thinking I will have to come back later to read the article about Walter de Maria. But I think that this has been an interesting start to a 4-week exploration of contemporary art journals!
Kelly, Patricia. "Jo Baer, Modernism, and Painting on the Edge." Art Journal 68 (2009): 52-67.
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