| Artist: | Kline, Franz |
|
|---|---|---|
| Title: | Nijinsky | |
| Date: | 1950 | |
| Nationality: | American | |
| Context: | post WWII, NY School | |
| Movement: | Abstract Expressionism | |
| Materials: | enamel paint on canvas | |
| Subject: Nijinsky, the dancer, in the role of Petrouchka, the sad clown. Style: sees a detail from his work in an overhead projector that magnified the gesture, and realized then that the gesture could stand on its own, without representation or a story line. Blows up the gesture and makes it hold the whole composistional field. No longer figurative or representational, the gesture acts out the theme. Not black on white ground, but black and white. Architectural stroke, very structural; claimed it was not calligraphic because he did not want the image to be read as a symbol. Context: existentialism ("existence precedes essence"); focus on expressing the inner being. | ||
