Miss T 1970

Edward Avedisian made "Miss T" with paint, and I think the process was about enjoying the ride. It feels like a playground of pastel hues, with each color sliding and mingling with its neighbor. Looking closely, you see how the paint isn't trying to hide itself. It's splattered, dripped, and pooled, showing off its wetness and texture. There’s a real physicality; you can almost feel the quick flicks of the wrist that created those splatters. Down in the lower left, there is this one stroke of deep purple that seems to be cascading down the canvas; it reminds me of someone flicking their hair, a real sense of attitude. Avedisian was part of the second generation of New York School painters. You can see a similar concern with color to someone like Helen Frankenthaler, but he's also happy to bring in a kind of pop art immediacy and surface. There's a sense that art is just another way of having fun, and it leaves the door open for us to join in.