Blue Force 1960

Editor: Here we have Ed Clark’s "Blue Force" from 1960, made with acrylic on canvas. The dynamism is immediate, isn't it? I find the energy in the splatters and the streaks quite captivating. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: Indeed. Notice the tension generated by the composition: a flat plane of canvas overwhelmed with pigment distributed via both controlled and chaotic methods. We see pools, drips, and fields. Consider the optical play set up between the impasto of the upper register against the washy lower region. Do you observe the tensions created here? Editor: I do, now that you mention it. It's like two opposing forces are fighting for dominance on the canvas, but the blue seems to hold everything together, right? Curator: Blue unifies the disparate visual energies, that’s true. More importantly, it serves as the visual fulcrum allowing the red and the green passages their own sense of materiality. In terms of pure form, it works masterfully. Editor: I can see how you look at it as pure composition. Thanks to you, I noticed relationships between areas I would not have seen. Curator: Precisely, and by attending to these formal relationships we start to see how "Blue Force" generates its own internal logic. Editor: I appreciate you showing me that! Curator: A pleasure. We have barely scratched the surface here.