Optophone I 1922

Francis Picabia made this, Optophone I, sometime in the early part of the 20th century, and right away it’s clear he’s not interested in sitting still. The bands of concentric circles, so precisely rendered, feel like they’re vibrating, and the figure is like a glitch or a blip in this optical field. Picabia's use of flat, unmodulated color throws the piece into high contrast. The stark black and white of the circles sets up this wild, almost dizzying rhythm. Then, the figure—split between warm tan and ghostly white—complicates the space even further. Look at how those solid black rings are laid down; they're so absolute, so unwavering. And right against that, there's this figure, so vulnerable, almost dissolving into the vortex. It reminds me of Hilma af Klint, who was also reaching for ways to paint the invisible, to give form to inner states. Both artists, in their own way, remind us that art isn't about answers; it's about the questions we dare to ask.