Barnett Newman's "Zip" paintings revolutionized abstract expressionism with their bold simplicity. Thin vertical lines divide expansive color fields, creating focal points and altering spatial perception. These works embody Newman's quest to evoke the sublime through art.

Newman's monumental canvases engulf viewers, encouraging intimate engagement with color and form. His color field approach contrasts with gestural abstraction, offering a more contemplative experience. Both styles reject traditional representation, prioritizing emotional and spiritual expression.

Barnett Newman's "Zip" Paintings

Zip concept in Newman's paintings

• Thin, vertical lines dividing Newman's color field paintings
  • Created by leaving thin strips of canvas unpainted or painting contrasting colors
  • Serve as visual and conceptual anchors in expansive color fields
    • Provide focal points for viewer's eye to rest upon
    • Create sense of depth and dimensionality in otherwise flat planes of color
• Zips alter viewer's perception of space within painting
  • Suggest division or compartmentalization of canvas
  • Can create tension or harmony between color fields (red and blue, black and white)
• Vertical orientation of zips emphasizes height of canvas
  • Encourages viewer's eye to move up and down painting
  • Enhances sense of scale and monumentality in Newman's works (Vir Heroicus Sublimis, Cathedra)

Spiritual foundations of abstract expressionism

• Newman's paintings influenced by interest in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah
  • Believed in spiritual potential of abstract art to convey profound emotions and ideas
  • Saw color field paintings as means of creating transcendent experience for viewer
• Works informed by philosophical beliefs
  • Influenced by concept of "sublime" as described by philosophers (Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant)
  • Sought to create paintings evoking awe, vastness, and the infinite
• Simplicity and reductionism in paintings intended to strip away distractions
  • Allow viewer to contemplate essential nature of existence and their place within universe
• Believed abstract expressionist works could serve as conduit for spiritual and emotional experiences
  • Encourage introspection and self-reflection in viewer (Onement I, The Stations of the Cross)

Scale and Abstraction in Newman's Works

Scale in large-format works

• Newman's paintings known for monumental scale
  • Often measuring over 6 feet in height and width
  • Intended to engulf viewer's field of vision and create immersive experience
• Large scale emphasizes physical presence of painting
  • Encourages viewer to engage with work on bodily level
  • Creates sense of intimacy and direct interaction between viewer and painting
• Proportions of color fields and zips carefully considered
  • Balanced to create harmony and equilibrium
  • Can also create tension or asymmetry, challenging viewer's expectations (Broken Obelisk, Anna's Light)
• Expansive scale allows for subtle variations in color and texture to become more apparent
  • Encourages close inspection and contemplation of surface qualities

Color field vs gestural abstraction

• Newman's color field abstraction differs from gestural abstraction of contemporaries (Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning)
  • Color field abstraction emphasizes large, flat planes of color with minimal evidence of artist's hand
  • Gestural abstraction characterized by energetic, expressive brushstrokes and visible trace of artist's movement
• Newman's paintings more contemplative and meditative in nature
  • Encourage slower, more sustained engagement from viewer
  • Gestural abstraction often conveys spontaneity, dynamism, and action
• Both color field and gestural abstraction reject traditional notions of representation and narrative in art
  • Prioritize expressive potential of color, form, and materiality of medium
• Newman's color field paintings and gestural abstractions of contemporaries influential in development of abstract expressionism
  • Contributed to movement's emphasis on large-scale, non-representational works privileging artist's subjective experience and viewer's emotional response