Joan Mitchell at the Tate Modern

Some thoughts with respect to Joan Mitchell at the Tate.

She was abstract expressionist who died in 1992. During her time (post-WWII), Joan excelled when there was a bias against women artists. She is part of the “action painter” school of abstract expressionism. For Joan Mitchell, she is supposed to have worked in “stages” as opposed to being fully spontaneous. An interesting quote from Mitchell:

“Sometimes I don’t know exactly what I want (with a painting). I check it out, recheck it for days or weeks. Sometimes there is more to do on it. Sometimes I am afraid of ruining what I have. Sometimes I am lazy, I don’t finish it or I don’t push it far enough. Sometimes I think it’s a painting.”

For her genre; art isn’t merely about the piece — it’s about the “story” and “personality” of the artists. This is something I don’t buy, and smells of art-as-a-commodity marketing and the need to hype up the “named artist” to change the perceived value of works. Otherwise, it’s value is the use of colour and mark making.

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Problem with fully abstract art

For me, I think highly or fully abstract art brings about very little real connection. Art should communicate something from the artist to the viewer — which should be done through the art itself. This is where abstract art such as Pollock simply fails. Communication requires some kind of shared ‘language’ to enable me to recognise what the other person meant by some expression. But in v. abstract art, such as Mitchell and Pollock, it is absent.

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South

This diptych is supposed to evoke landscapes and trees.

There is vibrancy, and the colours seem to match harmoniously. I do like her approach to the blood-red lines.

Otherwise, I think it’s entirely forgettable.

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Beauvais

She spent many years in France, hence the title referring to a town in the North of France.

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Two Sunflowers

A shower of encrusted dark-orange-yellow paint. Black soil at the bottom, and green for the leaves, and bursts of violet here-and-there.

I don’t think this is very interesting at all — I don’t think it shows much sophisticated use of colour.

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Cypress

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Minnesota

Interesting depths of yellow for the sun-drenched Minnesota.

Heavy and thick brushstrokes establishing zones of colour. I don’t really like this much. And I don’t like the way the columns seem to separate and not flow. I don’t get why Joan Mitchell left what seems to me as an empty canvas in the middle.

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Red Tree

The strokes of strokes of fiery-crimson horizontal marks are quite engaging.

But otherwise it’s ok.

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Plowed Field

Inspired my memories of landscapes.

I quite like it. I like the heavy maroons and yellows, and I can see the outlines of different fields.

But it’s ok.

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Tilleul

Great tree — bare, black, wintry branches thrusting upward.

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The gallery