Moving Pictures

For works like her 2004 ink and acrylic Stadia II, at top, Mehretu draws on a wide range of influences, including blueprints, maps, comics, Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, graffiti, and modernist art. “I pull from all of this material, project it, trace it, break it up, recontextualize it, layer one on the other, and envelop it into the DNA of the painting,” she says. The artist combines elements from these different sources of inspiration to explore themes like nationalism, migration, power, and globalization. 

To create seemingly three-dimensional scenes like the one in Stadia II, Mehretu’s process involves layering. She starts by projecting maps, blueprints, or photographs onto the canvas and then traces parts of them, preserving the tracings she wants to keep with a layer of transparent acrylic. She slowly adds more shapes and colors, repeating the acrylic layering process.

Mehretu gets her inspiration from many things, including architecture, maps, comics, and graffiti. For her 2004 work Stadia II, at top, Mehretu uses layering to create a scene that looks three-dimensional. Mehretu starts by projecting maps, building designs, or photos onto the canvas. Then she traces parts of them in ink and acrylic paint. She preserves the tracings with a layer of clear acrylic. She repeats this to slowly add layers of colors and shapes. 

Does Stadia II remind you of a stadium, amphitheater, or similar public place? Mehretu uses leading lines in the foreground to draw your eye into the composition. She also adds curving lines and trapezoids that create contours, adding to the illusion that this is a three-dimensional space with depth. 

“I started collecting stadium plans, as many as I could, built or unbuilt,” Mehretu says. “I brought them all together in the studio and tried to build one mega-stadium out of all the drawings, tying and weaving them together.”

Easily recognizable shapes that read like flags, banners, seating, and lights appear throughout the composition. Mehretu also adds shapes and symbols that might remind you of corporate logos. Notice the colorful lines and dots throughout the work. How does their repetition create a sense of rhythm?

Does Stadia II remind you of a stadium or similar public place? Though Stadia II doesn’t show a realistic stadium, Mehretu creates the feeling of one. “I started collecting stadium plans, as many as I could,” Mehretu says. “I brought them all together in the studio and tried to build one mega-stadium out of all the drawings.” She renders leading lines in the foreground. These draw your eye into the scene. She adds curving lines and contours. These curves help create the illusion that this is a three-dimensional space with depth. 

Mehretu places recognizable shapes throughout the scene. They bring to mind the flags, banners, seats, and lighting of a stadium. Other shapes and symbols Mehretu uses might remind you of brand logos. The repetition of colorful lines and dots creates a sense of rhythm.

Together, the lines and shapes Mehretu uses echo the swirling excitement of a stadium. But in the artist’s mind, the work is abstract. It doesn’t represent a specific stadium or event, and it is up to the viewer to interpret the scene. 

“Within abstraction there’s a lot that I can communicate that’s visceral and felt but that we don’t have language for,” the artist explains. “That’s my approach to making the paintings.” 

Which aspects of a sporting event, concert, or other public gathering does the painting above capture? How do Mehretu’s choices in color, shape, composition, and scale contribute to this message?

Mehretu believes that abstract art lets her share feelings that are hard to explain with words. For example, she uses lines and shapes to show a stadium’s swirling excitement. The work doesn’t represent a real stadium or event. Instead, it’s up to the viewer to figure out the abstract scene. 

Which details of a sporting event, concert, or other public gathering does the painting above capture? How do Mehretu’s choices in color, shape, and size help to do this?