Barnett Newman in artist quotes on painting & life in the U.S.; free resource, American art history

Barnett Newman quotes - the artist on his abstract painting art and his artistic life in New York, U.S. - free resource for students, pupils, art-lovers and teachers in American art history

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Barnett Newman reveals in his artist quotes the basics of his abstract painting art: how to deal with the penetration into the world mystery and to dig painterly into metaphysical secrets. Newman saw the problem of a painting as a physical and a metaphysical question. He also experiencedhis life itself in these two aspects together. Jewish secret and old writings like the Kabbalah were a great inspiration in the creation of Newman’s painting art. He tells also about his famous ‘Zip’ paintings.

Newman rejects geometry as a solution for art, like Piet Mondrian did for many years. In his quotes Newman is talking about his later characteristic art approach of the so-called ‘Zip-paintings’ (see, image right - but cut, I apologize!)
Newman had close artistic connections with the Amercian artists Mark Rothko and Gottlieb - often called the painters of the ‘Color Field’ in the United States.
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Some selected quotes of American artist Barnett Newman - as a short introduction of his extended quotes in the PDF:

• ’The subject matter of creation is chaos. The present feeling seems to be that the artist is concerned with form, color, and spatial arrangement. This objective approach to art reduces it (art) to a kind of ornament.’ - quote of Barnett Newman, in: ‘The Plasmic Image 1.’ 1943-45

• ’The present painter is concerned… …with the penetration into the world mystery. His imagination is therefore attempting to dig into metaphysical secrets. To that extend his art is concerned with the sublime… …(it) will catch the basic truth of life which is its sense of tragedy.’ - Newman’s quote, in: ‘The Plasmic Image 2.’ 1943-45

• ’Painting, like passion, is a living voice, which, when I hear it, I must let it speak, unfettered.’ - Newman’s quote in: ‘The New American Painting’, exhibition catalogue May - Sept, 1959
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  selection of free art-resources on American artist Barnett Newman:

  • biographical notes on Barnett Newman, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnett_Newman
  • artist-quotes of & about Newman, Wikiquote: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barnett_Newman
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    editor: Fons Heijnsbroek / Matrozenhof (FotoDutch on Wikiquote):<br>[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/User:FotoDutch]