Carter, Curtis

English

epublications@Marquette

Marquette Universitye-Publications@MarquettePhilosophy Faculty Research and Publications Philosophy, Department of12-22-1971Resnick Paintings [Review of Resnick Exhibit at theMilwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee]Curtis CarterMarquette University, curtis.carter@marquette.eduCarter, Curtis. 1971. Resnick paintings. Bugle American, December 22-January 5, EntertainmentSection, Vol. 2. No. 42 (No. 55).F EEl take me home, read me, recycle m e. Ner'Y C/JrJ~t/f)a5 ... Dec. 22, 1971 . Jan 5, 197! J . .. , f . .,. He s n fc kin fro n t 0 f .. S wan" Res11ick paintings by Curtis L. Carter . Born in a revo!l,ltionary year, 1917, in Bratislava, .. Russia; the artist'Milton Res-_ nick has become a major force in the art revolution that lea to the prominence of American Abstract Expressionist paint-ings of thdO's and 60's. With Jackson Pollock, Wilhelm de Kooning, and others, Resnick contrib-uted to the destruction of the identifi-able pictorial image. What remains is nicely stated in the current Resnick Exhibit at the Milwau-kee Art Center thru January 23. Giant 8x17 foot canvases covered ' with virtually unan"pyzable color fields offer the viewer a powerful sellse of co-lor and spac~. Sheer size alone is im-pressive, but it is only the beginning. An experience ofbeif}g "taken over" by on~ of tl,le massive structures provides a umque VISUal exploration._ A viewer fortunate enough to be in !he gallery on a certain Saturday morn· mg could .have heard the artist relating the "story" of "Here I Remember.f! lie said: . "When I was a little boy just new in this country, I felt as though everybody w~s looking at me because I was foreign. I would alWays have the feeling that someone was going to get me. One nice· . , summer day I wanted to go to the candy shop, which was the only bright spot in my life then. 1 looked crown the street to see if anyone was there. "The street was bare so I ran and reached the sh0p without seeing any-on.!:. I went in and bought a nice big piece of candy with my penny and left the shop. While walking down the ~treet, I had the feeling someone was going to get me and ~ake my candy. So I ran and-hid under a tree. "While I was standing under the tree I was terrified because I knew someone was in the tree and was coming down to get me. When I looked up, I saw nothing -but leaves and terror. This painting is how I remember it as being;" But if there are relevant stories con-• nected with the other paintings, 'they cannot be read from the paintings them-selves, which are the ultimate in abstrac-tion. Works in the exhibit show a progres-'sion, which divides roughly into four groupings. 1957 works such as "Winged Horse" make slight concessions to the past through their more demarcated shapes and traceable linear paths,; ' . "Tilt to the Land" and "Genie,~' of the 1959 period, exhibit marked cpal1Ae in direction. Ribbony stIokes in softer pastel greens and pinks loosen the struc-ture and complete the disintegration of closed shapes on the canvas. The quieter surfaces give w~y to, thick and crusty canvases of heavy carpet-like - paint in the 1961-63 works of "Leaving Color," and "New Bride." , _Highly luminous surfaces connect these and the most recent works of 1970-71: "Debris," "No Weather," and-"Pink Fire." These are remarkable for color resolution. Alternatively, they en-compass dark and somber tones as in "No Weather," lighter pastel shades in "De-'bris," and rich pink-reds perhaps reflect-ing the exposure to the desert tones of the New Mexico setting where the latest works were proQuced. Resnick has continued to. work in a , style which, due to the onrush of pop art, the color field school, minimal art, conceptual art and new realism, has be~ come "out ·of fashion." Opinions will vary as to whether he has advanced the style into a more mature statement or carries it into lyric decadence. I favor the former view. 

Resnick Paintings [Review of Resnick Exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee]

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&amp;context=phil_fac

Resnick Paintings [Review of Resnick Exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee]

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