14. Who’s afraid of red yellow blue?

Who’s afraid of red yellow and blue?  is a series of paintings by Barnett Newman

The painting was a bold modernist statement. To provoke and attack traditional painting techniques. The painting was large and displayed in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam Holland.

The public made complaints about the painting. It was disliked because of its provocation. Against the more usual perception of what art might be. A traditional artist attacked the painting with a knife. The museum restored the painting at great cost after years of waiting. The restorer made no attempt to recreate the original painting authentically. A second attack. The restorer then sued the museum because of damage to his reputation.
So the Museum settled.

1966.Oil on canvas.

A second attack was correctly predicted. The same artist attempted to damage the painting again! But the attacker couldn’t find the painting – so damaged another of the Newman’s works. Amsterdan City Council demanded a report on what had happened. The report was kept secret as part of the agreement.
Until now.

A chaotic story of a chaotic painting creating an unbelieveable story of chaos and confusion. Job done.

Podcast The many deaths of a painting 

Copyright Adrian Scott North London Counsellor Blog 2019
All rights reserved
Disclaimer: This weblog is the view of the writer and for general information only
This article is designed to provoke argument and critique

 

 

 

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