Painted canvas fragment  c. 20th century

Curator: Here we have "Painted canvas fragment" by Barnett Newman. It resides at the Harvard Art Museums and its dimensions are roughly 5 1/4 by 5 1/4 inches. Editor: A startlingly red shard! There’s something visceral about this small square, a concentrated intensity. I want to touch it. Curator: Indeed. Red, of course, has immense symbolic power. It represents blood, passion, sacrifice... perhaps Newman wanted to distill the raw essence of emotion onto this canvas. Editor: Or perhaps it's just what was left over. Was this piece part of a larger work, a casualty of process? The rough edges suggest a tearing away, a violent severing. Curator: Possibly so. But Newman's abstract expressionism often aimed at the sublime, and this fragment, even in its smallness, possesses a potent and concentrated visual impact. Editor: The texture of the canvas also plays a role, its weave creating a subtle grid. This reveals its humble origins, its materiality, before being elevated by the application of paint. Curator: Ultimately, whether a fragment or a complete statement, it evokes a powerful feeling. Editor: Yes, this fragment is potent evidence of creation, of material transformation into something evocative.