Delta Theta 1961

Editor: Standing here, I’m really drawn to Morris Louis' "Delta Theta" from 1961, executed in acrylic on canvas. There's this amazing tension created by the stark, off-white canvas that focuses all the attention on these almost symmetrical bands of color. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: The profound simplicity, primarily. Louis is interested in exploring the intrinsic properties of paint and canvas, reducing representational content to allow for direct experience of color and form. Note how the rivulets of paint stain the canvas, integrating pigment and ground. Editor: Stain the canvas...so it's almost like the painting and canvas are inseparable? How does that affect the way we see the piece? Curator: Precisely. It challenges the traditional hierarchy where the image is applied to a separate surface. Here, they are unified. Furthermore, consider the bilateral symmetry, how these fields of color echo and mirror each other, creating a compositional balance that invites contemplation of pure chromatic relationships. Do you see how the bands appear almost suspended? Editor: Yes, the bands do appear suspended; the off-white expanse makes the colors really pop. Also, I didn't initially think of the painting in terms of balance, but now it's difficult not to. It's making me consider the role of negative space too! Curator: Indeed, the 'negative space' becomes an active element, contributing to the work’s overall structure. Louis directs our attention to how compositional elements such as colour, form, line and, in addition, material create affect in themselves. Editor: I am taking notes. Thanks. I've definitely got a deeper appreciation for how much is communicated through what's not overtly there. Curator: An understanding of the aesthetic impact that occurs when pure artistic forms are at the core of a composition. An essential observation in formalist inquiry.