Untitled construction, Dec. 8 1959

Stephen Antonakos made this ‘Untitled construction, Dec. 8’ out of all sorts of odds and ends, with a real emphasis on how these things can be put together. It feels like a really joyful coming together of materials, and the process is all there on the surface. The textures jump out, don’t they? A little bit of fabric here, a bit of burlap there, some cardboard, and it all sits on this stand like it's about to take off. There is this deep blue field at the bottom, and above it, this delicious black form that reminds me of a draped figure. Then there’s this disc shape that’s trying to break free, covered in all these paper scraps. They almost look like stains, little blotches of color building up into this wild, free form. It makes me think of Kurt Schwitters, who made these ‘merz’ pictures out of trash he picked up off the streets. The conversation between artists is always evolving and adapting to what came before, but making something new out of it. It’s not about answers. It’s about constantly asking more questions.