Photography Volume 1 | Page 7

All White

By: Colby Stewart

White paintings are placed in art museums all across the world, but why? Who would pay $15 million for a bunch of white paint on top of a white canvas? In 2014 a painting by Robert Ryman went for that same amount at an auction in New York creating a new historical milestone (Bershidsky, Leonid). This movement towards a more minimalist form of art started in the 1950’s and has blossomed into the different paintings we see popping up today.

To me the white paint spread onto a canvas expresses more than just what it is. White comes in all different shades, some even containing traces of color. It represents cleanliness, purity and light. My favorite all white painting is Robert Rauschenberg’s, White Painting [three panel]. Rauschenberg did five purely white works that consisted of different amounts of panels, one, two, three, four and seven. His three-panel piece sits in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is what heavily inspired many to create works of similar style.

Looking into the eyes of a painting meant to look untouched by human hands is a very imaginative process. Conceptualism plays a huge role into this style of artwork, digging into the deepest parts of your mind. In a museum, full of colors and different kinds of artwork you come across a blank sheet. Maybe you should be placing your own ideas of art onto it? It sparks the cogs inside of the brain to start moving almost more than a painting that is already “complete”. What makes the white paint on a white canvas so intriguing is the actual thought that you can see put into it. The artist didn’t just pick a tube of white paint out of a collection and spread it around recklessly hoping for praise. Looking at the painting, you can see how even the brush strokes are throughout. From a distance, it even looks like he used a roller, this wasn’t an amateur job.

Rauschenberg grew through his career with a lack financial support in the 1950’s which some think sparked his idea to start work on the White Painting (SFMOMA). He would often have to paint over old used canvases with white to create a new fresh workplace. When the paintings first came out they were reviewed poorly by critics, from a far they looked like nothing and the artistic potential couldn’t be found. The collection of pieces wasn’t seen as art, they appeared to lack the touch of an artist. What they couldn’t see was that’s exactly what Rauschenberg was going for.

The three-panel piece of art inflicts a whole world of feelings upon me. I can understand where the artist was going when he created his own version of the “white painting”. In museums full of extravagant work, you would think the more color-filled pictures and paintings would stand out but I actually see it the complete opposite. Rauschenberg’s painting can be looked at like an empty cinema screen, ready for you to display your own movie. The stories you can create in your mind should spill onto the canvas, an open space ready for the amazing thoughts you can think up in your brain. The painting invokes a whole world of feelings while looking at it amongst the art that you are normally used to. I feel the movement towards more simplistic art that inflicts real emotion is something to stand behind. I can see the potential of these pieces to gain more popularity and the more people catch on to this style the more ideas and creations will arise.

Modern art has always had a negative connotation with the new society. The work is hated by a large majority of the population and can only really only be appreciated by the ones who work and/or study in the industry. There are many questions that could be asked about modern art some including, “Are we upset that some people can find value in the things we can’t seem to find ourselves?” “They dared to continue their form of creative play – and even more daringly called it art and shared it with the world?” (Bullshitlst) People are scared to have their own thoughts and to express their own feelings. To me, modern art isn’t only about what you see with your eyes but an open world to explore how that art makes you feel. The population respects art that they can witness the time and talent put into without having to put a lot of effort into the search, since we are all generally lazy. It’s hard for people to appreciate the artistic style that seems easy for them to create, minimalism. The possibility of potential is endless.