Flashcards on Barnett Newman: Subject, Zip, and Scale
Barnett Newman: Subject, Zip, and Scale Explained for Students
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Painting and Fine Arts
8 cards
Card 1
Question: How does the author define the main problem of painting during the described period?
Answer: The problem was deciding what a painter actually paints—that is, the question of the work's subject, not its technique or surface.
Card 2
Question: What distinction does Professor M. Shapiro describe regarding 'subject' in painting?
Answer: He distinguishes between the 'subject' (the theme or content of the work) and the objects within the work (e.g., apples as objects are not necessarily
Card 3
Question: Why did the author refuse to understand some works merely as depictions of objects (e.g., "apples")?
Answer: Because objects can simply be elements within a painting, but the presence of specific objects doesn't automatically mean there's no subject; a work c
Card 4
Question: What does the author say about his "zip" or stripes, and how he perceives them?
Answer: He didn't make a decision to "paint stripes"; he saw them more as streaks of light and called them a 'zip,' which doesn't cut the painting but rather
Card 5
Question: According to the author, what effect did the single stroke (zip) have in the painting "Onement"?
Answer: This stroke brought the painting to life, removed the atmosphere of mere filling, and created unity and totality in the image—the beginning and end ar
Card 6
Question: How does the author describe the difference between painting as a 'dance' vs. 'narrative' art?
Answer: A painter can compose space like a choreographer—creating a dance of elements and forms; if it becomes narrative, it becomes more tactical or storytel
Card 7
Question: What is the author's stance on detailed examination in a portrait or depiction of a person?
Answer: The first impression when meeting a person is holistic and immediate, which he considers an almost metaphysical event; excessive examination of detail
Card 8
Question: What does the author say about the relationship between size and scale in painting?
Answer: The size of the canvas itself isn't decisive; what's important is the human scale, and that is achieved through content, not merely size.