B-1954
Artist
James Brooks
(American, 1906 - 1992)
Date1954
MediumOil and crayon on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 17 × 17in. (43.2 × 43.2cm)
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Emanuelson
Terms
Object number93.34.1
On View
Not on viewCollections
CopyrightPresumed copyright: the artist or the artist's representative/heir(s).
Label TextDuring the late 1940s and early 1950s, James Brooks began to create abstract pictures. Brooks' reasons for moving in this direction include a deep respect and fascination for the act of painting. He wrote: "[A painting's] meaning is carried in its relationships; and the shapes, colors and things in it exist not as separate identities . . . but as carriers. The impulse they transmit through the painting is its spirit, image and meaning."
In B-1954 Brooks scribbled aggressively on the canvas with crayon and then softened the color by overlaying creamy white paint. He stated that a relationship evolves between him and a canvas: "My work is improvisation to start with . . . There are shapes suggested that start improvising themselves, which I then start developing."
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