Ellsworth Kelly Diagonal at MATTHEW MARKS

[JeffersonDinedAlone]

House painters do this every day. What is the point?

[AutumnCanvas]

I found out about Kelly because my instructor mentioned I should look at his work during my sculpture critique.Wonderful work!

[chandru1103]

i like that you re adding some jams to your videos, some smooth jazz and ellsworth go hand in hand.

[jameskalm]

Unfortunately the bigs at YouTube have begun to hassle and silence vids that may infringe copyright or offend family values. They dropped out the Miles riff at the beginning for two days then put it back in, weird.

[MrWowforever]

the censors and bankers are coming to get us......if they continue we will have to make art that offends all family values while listening to heavily copyrighted tunes in public places while charging gratuitous fees and then selling videos of the event down on canal street in a van down by the river.

[jameskalm]

I'm already there man,beat ya to the parking space, and got my apple crate with the DVDs at a discount.

[MrWowforever]

i look forward to ignoring you as you block the sidewalk with your criminally gathered content....i knew you were a 65 year old chinese woman, I KNEW IT!

[claureic]

Not to mention Led Zeppelin videos that suddenly were made unavailable...

[claureic]

That drawing show is one of the most beautiful show I have ever seen. Fantastic video, James. One of your best.

[claureic]

I wish I had "Black Diagonal" in my living room. Thanks for the comments on Kelly sharing inspiration with Robert Indiana and Agnes Martin. I didn't know that. Would you say that Kelly is first and foremost a great colorist? I would appreciate anybody's take on that.

[jameskalm]

Hey claureic,

in an earlier post yellowfringe brought up the point that Kelly was dealing primarily with shape and color was secondary. I think Kelly uniquely seems to deal with both simultaneously. Seems his shapes embody the color and vis-versa. In this show theres only pure high keyed colors and white, hard to pull off, but he does it. I love the drawings too

JK

[claureic]

Thanks for this insight.

[MrWowforever]

hi claureic....i always see Kelly as an extension of Matisses late cut outs with scissors and the work of russian constructivists like El lisitsky and Rodchenko. the square on square fields, Malevich's white on white. then throw in the very american notion of Space, the big midwest vistas were Kelly grew up. I see Kelly as an american seeking a purity in european language through strong american desire. he was not alone in this. just my opinion:)

[claureic]

Thanks for this insightful reply. I remember a show at the Centre Pompidou that put side by side plant drawings by Matisse and Kelly. I think it was some 4 years ago. I wouldn't have thought of the Russians, but you're right.

[creepyartkid]

I love minimalism and Kelly!

thanks again james

[cypherbrian]

I personally have never liked his larger geometric pieces. The smaller studies however are really great. I like seeing the artist hand and gesture and perhaps the larger pieces are just too mechanical for me.

I like this one: 5:52

and this one: 6:27

Some of my favorites (none in this show) are his 'Plant Drawings'

Thanks James.

[andfalling]

there is a plant drawing at 24th street

[MrWowforever]

the last shot of four people standing in front of the four color painting was nice, empty opening.....empty paintings....good stuff...thanks mr kalm

[LawrenceCharlesMille]

True. Elegant. The black and white pieces are on a higher plane. I hear them hum. So much more evolved than I am.

[mkess54]

This was one of your best posts! I posted it on Facebook. You might join up if you aren't already there. Michael Kessler.

[hankjunior]

I realy digg Mr Kellys work .Pure sound vs a bunch of crazy jazz notes.

Thanks James

[luxinteriorrapheal]

this show looks fantastic i cant wait to see it thankyou...rip lux interior :)

[RonSchira]

One has to "get" Kelly, and I see them as very varied in their simplicity, they are shape, color, and scale intermittently, very clean and sharp with a dynamic but silent presence. These have a subdued geometry to them for that opposing corner to corner thing he's got goin'.

I like them,

Thanks, my friend.

[destroyer820]

Ron - It's true, I don't "get" Kelly. Maybe collectively the Kelly exhibit should be viewed like Hankunior said: Pure sound vs a bunch of crazy jazz notes - same as simplicity and silent presence.

[bobwilsonray]

I think a lot of what you see and what you don't see when you get off that elevator depends on you as a viewer and what you like. It does depend too on the artist, but the audience carries within it the seeds of preference. I think on the other hand if a person sees it just because they took art history 101 and someone else has declared something "great" art then that is problematic I believe to the piece and to an extent to the artist. There are surely Kelley fans out there somewhere.

[destroyer820]

Yeah, I can agree with what you say, but if it just comes down to what we like, then what's the point of saying anything is great or bad

[bobwilsonray]

Who is to do the saying? Who is to be this judge of what is good, great, bad, or ugly in art? Are you the one? Am I? I bring up a question which is: who is getting off this elavator that you brought up? You may be right, but I don't address what is great or not so. I put forth the idea that the observer gets off the elavator and sees the Kelly then what does he do? If he is a fan he may swoon. If he isn't he may or may not notice it at all. Maybe he hates it. That's okay for it's a reaction!

[destroyer820]

But seriously folks. . . this is the kind of work you see when stepping out of an elevator of a skyscraper in corporate America and never notice it; -- especially so if it is properly placed in proportion to its size. James you are great for putting this out there - you are the bold, the bright, and the savvy.

[yellowfringe]

Thanks James for a great video.

I noticed you referenced color several times and shape only once when describing attributes of Kelly's paintings. Conversely, when viewing his works live (as opposed to a photo or video), I've always considered color secondary to shape in most of his work, especially in regard to its relation to the space in which it is placed.

[cpkelley]

I'm partial to people with the last name Kelly...or Kelley. Haha. I like the work on paper better. Thanks! Great video.

[spawndawnacl]

The diagonal work made me think of the Pythagorean theorem and the metric as a basis of all geometry. 1954-62 were good years for Mr. Kelly. I'm hoping that he didn't use rollers for the new stuff. That way, his efforts could at least match mine of staying conscious while viewing it. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

[monkcycle]

Thanks James as always for your dedication,

What is the most recent E. Kelly painting that was shown at the show? Are there any 2008 or 09 pieces?

MC

[jameskalm]

Most of the paintings were 2007-2008.

[burtoncharlessmith]

I liked the older paper works the best.

[destroyer820]

Not very inspiring. Kelly might as well do artist trading cards. No one seemed to really be looking at the diagonal works. I enjoyed the people-watching and saw a few beautiful dudettes.