The first thing viewers may notice about this painting by artist Robert Motherwell, a prime example of the expressive properties of raw paint on canvas, is that is has no “obvious” subject matter. Instead, the artist features bold and sweeping splashes of paint on the canvas to express deep, emotional truths of the human experience.
Here, Motherwell used a limited palette of colors, earthy tones enlivened with the dramatic use of black. The thick, black brushstrokes range from feathery and drip-like to solid and heavy. This parallels a balance between other contradictory elements in the painting such as intellect/emotion, shape/line, sweeping gesture/measured rhythms—all very characteristic of Abstract Expressionist works. The black stroke is reminiscent of Chinese calligraphy and brush painting where the brushstroke can express poetic and lyrical rhythm. Additional rhythm is created from the spaces between the brushstrokes and color structure.
While the panoramic format is typically associated with landscape, the large-scale size allows the viewer to be engulfed in the work. The size and gestural brushwork are symbolic of the artist’s exploration of inner turmoil and anxiety. The shapes on the left side of the work are much more controlled than those on the right. Although there are some points of overlap among the shapes on the left, Motherwell attempted uniformity in creating their contours and edges. While some of the lines may appear to be bulky, they interact with one another with finesse. The fine, rounded intricacies of the red form lend it an organic gracefulness. Compared to the careful and contemplative left, the right side of the painting seems chaotic and destructive and is bursting with active energy.
Despite this strong contrast, the two moods exist in harmony. The clash between the legs of the large, central “x” adds drama without communicating violence or competition. Instead, the two sides exist in a yin-yang relationship on the canvas, balancing and complementing each other. The canvas could represent the dualities of life and death, love and loss, and failure and triumph that human beings experience.
Motherwell belonged to a group of artists known as the Abstract Expressionists, who strove to uncover their most personal feelings directly through making art. The movement exploded onto the art scene after WWII with its characteristic energetic application of paint (dripping, smearing, slathering, and flinging). Although at first glance it seems that a kindergartner could have painted this work, Motherwell and his peers cultivated the interplay of skill and unplanned occurrences to determine the painting’s final outcome.
