Reinhardt's Simple "Yellow Painting"

Desmond, as a frequenter and patron of your restaurant I have come to value your thoughts ideas. However, I have a different approach to the interpretation you put forward.

My interest in visual art began during a tour of abstractionist art in a Sydney gallery four or five years ago. At this art show there were many paintings that didn’t seem to “make sense” in a conventional symbolic or referential way. Instead the art seemed to be completely open to interpretation as it seemed many of the works’ artists had no agenda when creating them. As I walked through the tour I began to realize that my stereotype for analyzing art in a symbolic nature was completely outdated and very narrow-minded. What really interested me was that I could understand, appreciate, and enjoy art as an intellectual without having to force myself to enjoy anything more than the aesthetics of the painting itself. This specific painting by Reinhardt is simply titled “Yellow Painting.” In this painting Reinhardt attempts to convey the fundamental appealing aspects of visual art, specifically through the use of the color yellow.

(Image courtesy of Ackland.org)

One of the most striking characteristics of this painting is that it was painted primarily with a single color. Aside from a few spots of blue, all of the colors are just different shades and combinations of the color yellow (sometimes complimented by a minor second color, like red to attain a more orange tone). Reinhardt also uses a very large variation of shades of yellow in the painting and does not focus on a certain tone.

Reinhardt’s color choice tries to convey the idea that using a multitude of colors is not a definitely appealing color usage. Instead it is how the artist manipulates each individual color (as we can see the yellow used in a variety of ways) that is an attractive use of color. Reinhardt could also be explaining that a widely ranged and contrasting use of a particular color is the essence of visual appeal. The artist’s use of a secondary color (specifically blue here) also has a substantial purpose. By including just a little blue it can be used in conjunction with the yellow to create a distinct color (green). Generally speaking, an artist can use merely a hint of a second color to help manipulate a painting’s diversity, without having to sacrifice appeal with the addition of discrete, extraneous, and complicating colors.

Another unique feature of this painting is the artist’s use of abstract shapes. The different geometrical figures Reinhardt includes do not have strict boundaries and do not resemble any realistic figures. While there does seem to be some vertical placement pattern of the objects, there is basically no symbolic reason for their placement.

The reason for the artist’s use of meaningless shapes allows him to reveal another appealing characteristic of visual art. Reinhardt is trying to make the point that visual art is not appealing because of discernable, distinct figures an artists adds that make the art attractive (such as people or furniture), it is instead the artist’s utilization of geometrical shapes in an interesting fashion. In “Yellow Painting” he weaves different shapes together to make a sort of interesting rhythm or harmony of the shapes: these include triangles, rectangles, arcs, circles, and even a shape that looks like a character from the Japanese language. While Reinhardt uses these shapes in an interesting way, they make no distinguishable figure and don’t seem to symbolize anything apart from themselves; but Reinhardt is still able to create an attractive and interesting image without those features.

Similarly, Reinhardt’s use of depth reveals what his painting stands for. None of the objects or the ground in “Yellow Painting” have any correlation to depth as Reinhardt has excluded it in order to make a completely two dimensional image. Reinhardt is again explaining that “real” objects in the world are not what are appealing in art, as he has removed a vital part of these realistic objects: a third dimension.

Reinhardt’s use of lines in the painting also seems to make a similar statement concerning visual art. The placement of lines seems to be random in certain places and none of the lines seem to be placed in a way to create continuity or depict direction, except when they function to outline shapes. Instead the lines in the painting seem to be used break continuity. The lines seem to increase appeal by creating more textural definition rather than just having all of the colors run together; they also server to help define objects from their surroundings.

Sometimes the artist’s choice of medium is almost arbitrary (it may just be his or her preference) but Reinhardt uses canvas specifically for its blending qualities. His use of medium also seems to convey a message that is concurrent with the rest of the work. Reinhardt created his “Yellow Painting” with oil paint on a canvas base which allows him to create a harmony, a softer transition than is usually afforded by paper and most other common mediums where transitions seem to be more bold and noticeable. Harmony is the last aspect of appealing art that Reinhardt is explaining through his use of canvas and oil.

This specific painting by Reinhardt seems to explain a lot about his artistic style and from where he receives inspiration on how to paint his images. “Yellow Painting” has done this by outlining most of the fundamental aspects of appeal in visual art. This painting has really changed my view of painting as a whole, where I used to judge all art as overbearing and symbolic but now know that I can appreciate art under much simpler circumstances.