Painted canvas fragment  c. 20th century

Editor: Here we have Barnett Newman's "Painted canvas fragment," from around 1970, at the Harvard Art Museums. It's so small! I'm struck by the raw edges and the bold red slash. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Fragments often carry more symbolic weight than intended wholes. The torn canvas, the aggressive red—it’s a primal mark. Think of the history of the color red; blood, passion, revolution. Newman is evoking something deeply embedded. What might this specific shade of red signify to you, in relation to the texture? Editor: I guess I see the red as maybe anger, frustration… given the raggedness. Curator: Perhaps. The incompleteness, the rawness…it speaks to a certain vulnerability, a glimpse behind the artist's process. Editor: I didn’t think of that. Seeing it as a process rather than a statement changes everything. Curator: Indeed. Sometimes the most powerful symbols are the ones we’re still deciphering.