Simple Shapes Big Ideas

How do these artists transform basic shapes into works of art?

December 2020

Prior to the 1900s, most art depicted something: a religious or historical event, a person, a landscape, or even a feeling, like love or sadness. But during the 20th century, many artists became less interested in making realistic, life-like representations of the world around them. The three artists featured here explore industrial materials, geometric shapes, light, space, and time. Each artist began with a deceptively simple shape—like an oval or a square. And then with a combination of creativity and technical know-how, each developed an idea and created a work of art.

Before the 1900s, most art showed realistic scenes. Artists painted events, people, places, or even feelings, like love or sadness. But in the 20th century, that began to change. Many artists were not interested in creating realistic art. The three artists whose work is on these pages make art that explores light, space, and time. They use industrial materials, or solid materials normally made in factories.

About the Journey

Can art be a full-body experience? According to Richard Serra, it can. As a young man, Serra worked in steel mills to help pay for college. He soon became interested in working with industrial steel—used to construct bridges and buildings—to create monumental sculptures. From 1994 to 2005, he designed The Matter of Time, above. The complete work includes eight sculptures, each made with a series of massive steel panels that form tall curving walls.

“I consider that space is a material,” Serra explains. For many of his sculptures, like the example in the foreground above, he begins with an oval. Then he torques, or twists, the surrounding walls. Light and sound transform as viewers walk through the sculptures. The negative space is as important as the positive space because the viewer exists in the negative space. Viewers experience Serra’s dizzying sculptures in relation to their own bodies.

Do you think art can be experienced from your head to your toes? Artist Richard Serra does. Serra worked in steel mills to help pay for college. He started making art with the industrial steel used to build bridges and buildings. He used the metal to create enormous sculptures like The Matter of Time, above. He made the work, which includes eight sculptures, between 1994 and 2005.

Serra says that space is one of his materials. He twists steel panels to create curved walls. The walls are the positive space, which means they take up space. As people walk between the walls, in the negative space, they experience light and sound change.

In the Limelight

When you turn on a light in a dark room, you transform the space. Light illuminates the walls and objects nearby. Imagine that the light is red, blue, or green. How does the addition of color change the mood in the room?

In the 1960s, Dan Flavin began experimenting with commercial fluorescent lights, much like the ones that might light your classroom. In his 1973 work untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection), above, Flavin repeats a rectangular form 69 times. Each segment is 48 inches square, and the entire structure is more than 100 feet long. But because light emanates from the work, it casts an eerie glow that transforms the entire space. How would seeing this artwork be different than viewing a painting on a wall?

When you turn on a light in a dark room, everything changes. Light draws attention to the walls and nearby objects. Now imagine that the light is red, blue, or green. How would the color change the mood?

The artist Dan Flavin makes art with fluorescent lights. These are similar to the bright lights you might see in a classroom. In the 1973 work untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection) above, Flavin attaches fluorescent lights to rectangular forms. The structure is more than 100 feet long. A rectangle repeats 69 times. The eerie green light changes the whole space. How would seeing this work be different than looking at a painting on a wall?

Getting Into Shape

The painting by Frank Stella above is part of a series called Irregular Polygons. A polygon is a closed shape, such as a square or triangle, made of straight lines. Do you think a mathematician would consider the painting at right a polygon?

The 1967 painting, called Harran II, almost looks like a sculpture mounted on the wall because Stella uses a shaped canvas. The painted surface touches each of the curved and straight edges. The artist divides the composition into sections bordered with squares and quarter circles. Concentric circles appear within each section, creating a rainbow of vibrant, flat colors.

Curator Michael Auping explains that Stella is interested in making paintings that “stand up to” the architecture that surrounds them. Harran II is 10 feet tall by 20 feet wide, filling the viewer’s field of vision. Stella also wants to make paintings that clearly and simply present his ideas. “What you see is what you see,” the artist explains. How does Stella use shapes to explore an idea in this painting?

The painting above is part of a series by Frank Stella. He made it in 1967 and called it Harran II. Stella uses a shaped canvas instead of a rectangular one. This makes it look almost like a sculpture on the wall.

Stella divides the composition into sections. He borders each section with squares and quarter circles. He paints all the way to the edge of the canvas. Circles in different colors are within each section.

Stella wants to make work that people can compare to the designs of buildings. Harran II is 10 feet tall by 20 feet wide. When someone stands in front of it, the work is all they see. Stella also wants to make paintings that present his ideas simply and clearly. “What you see is what you see,” he explains.