Repetition Assignment

 - Repetition -

1) Abstract Expressionism

Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell, Elegy To The Spanish Republic No. 110, 1971

a) Both the lines and the dots are involved in repetition.
b) This lies more toward monotony/harmony; the painting is structured and there's little chaos.
c) The repetition has the effect of drawing the eye left to right, down the middle of the pattern.

Robert Motherwell, At Five In The Afternoon, 1949

a) Again, dots and lines form the core of the repetition.
b) Also toward monotony/harmony, for the same reasons as above.
c) The repetition here has the eye move more right to left, due to the size of the two dots on the right side of the picture.

Philip Guston

Philip Guston, Untitled, 1978

a) The multitude of block shapes and the brick wall make up the repetition.
b) Closer to variety/chaos; while the bricks are orderly, the blocks are randomly placed.
c) The chaotic repetition of the blocks serves to draw the eye away from the more ordered repetition of the bricks.

Philip Guston, City, 1968

a) The lines representing windows make the majority of the repetition.
b) Closer to monotony/harmony; the buildings are orderly and there is no chaos.
c) The multitude of windows give off a feel that the buildings are extremely large, with a room behind each window.

2) Minimalism

Kenneth Noland

Kenneth Noland, Turnsole, 1961

a) The concentric circles form the repetition.

b) This is midway between harmony and chaos; while it is structured around a central dot, the colors and widths of the rings are different, along with the distance between each ring. 

c) The repetition serves to draw the eye closer in toward the center of the circle.

Robert Noland, And Again, 1964

a) The multicolored lines form the repetition.

b) This is more toward harmony, though the lines are different colors, they are uniform and stuck in a pattern.

c) The repetition of the colored lines serves to draw the eye downward in the direction of a perceived arrow.

Jo Baer

Jo Baer, Double Bar Diptych, 1968

a) The black bars form the repetition.

b) This is closer to harmony that chaos, the picture is structured around a set of two black bars, with no chaos.

c) Because the two halves of the picture are identical, the eye goes back and forth between the two halves.

Jo Baer, Grey Wraparound Triptych, 1970

a) Again, the bars form the repetition.

b) This is a bit closer to chaos than the previous picture, due to some slightly different colors used, but still heavily on the side of harmony.

c) The repetition on this work draws the eye to the edges of the canvas.

3) Post-Minimalism

Richard Tuttle

Richard Tuttle, Galisteo Paintings, 1993

a) The frames and canvas form the repetition.

b) This is a mix of harmony and chaos; the different colors and shapes in the paintings are offset by the structure of the whole.

c) The repetition serves to focus on the whole of the series rather than one painting in particular.

Richard Tuttle, Untitled (Poetry Project Print), 1991

a) The squares in the background form the repetition.

b) This is heavily chaotic; there are so many different colors and shapes that any order is overwhelmed.

c) The repetition of squares in combination with the multiple colors give the impression of a heavily chaotic background.

Rachel Whiteread

Rachel Whiteread, Embankment, 2005

a) The series of cubes form the repetition.

b) This is between harmony and chaos; while it is colored entirely white, the cubes have a haphazard feel to the way they are arranged.

c) The repetition of cubes give the entire work its shape.

Rachel Whiteread, Nameless Library, 2000

a) Repetition is formed through the multitude of concrete books that make up the exterior of the building.

b) This is farther toward harmony, the building is very orderly and structured, there is nothing out of place.

c) The repetition is so thorough, that at first glance the walls seem to be solid; yet upon further examination, individual books can be picked out.

Today (Within Last Ten Years)

Richard Long

Richard Long, The Well, 2003

a) The line pattern forms the repetition.

b) This is closer to chaos than harmony; it has a pattern but the entire work is messy.

c) The repetition draws the eye upward as the gap between broken lines grows smaller.

Richard Long, River Avon Mud Slow Spiral, 2005

a) The handprints form the repetition.

b) This is closer to harmony than chaos, the handprints are in an ordered pattern.

c) The repetition gives the feeling of a sort of sunburst emanating from the center of the spiral.

James Rosenquist

James Rosenquist, Warp, 2007

a) The multiple flowing lines form the repetition.

b) This is more chaos than harmony, there is little order in this picture.

c) The repeating white lines on blue give the feeling of flowing water.

James Rosenquist, The Stowaway Peers Out At The Speed Of Light, 2000

a) The multiple circles form the repetition.

b) This is chaos, the multiple colors and lack of structure keeps it away from harmony.

c) The repeating circles create a tunnel, and give an impression of speed.