Broad Turning 1958

Morris Louis made this large-scale painting on untreated canvas, using diluted acrylic paint. The effect is quite different from traditional oil painting. Instead of sitting on the surface, the paint has been absorbed directly into the fibers, staining the material, and becoming one with it. Louis poured the paint onto the canvas, manipulating its flow by folding, tilting, and lifting the fabric, letting gravity do much of the work. You can see this process very clearly in the finished work, in the rivulets and subtle gradations of color. There is an almost geological character to the image, reminiscent of stratified rock formations. The painting is not so much an image, as it is an index of a performance, like a dance. This kind of artmaking was about challenging the norms of the time, and pushing the boundaries of what painting could be, even questioning the distinction between art and craft.