ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
FROM THE FIGURATIVE TO THE ABSTRACT: A COMPARISON OF THE TRANSITIONAL WORK OF CLYFFORD STILL AND RONALD SPICKETT
Katherine Meredith
Clyfford Still (1904-1980) and Ronald Spickett (b. 1926) are two western Canadian artists who
began with figurative painting, a term referring to art characterized by the natural representation
of the external world. Both artists shifted their styles to create large, non-representational
canvases. Still was born in 1904 in North Dakota but spent the early part of his career in Bow
Island and Killam, Alberta, as well as in Washington State. Still’s subject matter during his
formative years mainly reflected his witnessing of farm workers in Alberta and Washington
during the Great Depression. Often depicted during this period was the theme of “man versus
machine;” the tired labourer struggling with farm machinery.1 Still’s early work reflects a Social-
Realist theme. Popular in the United States and Canada during the 1920s and 30s, artists of this
genre drew attention to the everyday conditions of the working classes and the poor, while
criticizing the social structures that maintained these conditions.2 Ronald Spickett, who is today
known by his Buddhist name Gyo-Zo, was born in Regina in 1926. He has spent the majority of
his life and career in Calgary. Spickett’s preliminary works were also inspired by a Social-
Realist subject, but a more specific approach, that of Mexican muralism: an uprising of mural
paintings displaying social and political messages in an effort to re-unite the citizens of Mexico
following the armed struggles of the revolution that began in 1910 and lasted into the late
1920s.3 Still’s art progressed in a gradual but steady fashion from figuration to abstraction, and
the artist never returned to figuration in his lifetime. Spickett, in contrast, began as a figurative
painter, experimented with abstraction, and constantly moved between the two styles. Several of
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
his works contain both figurative and abstract elements. Spickett’s work, unlike Still’s, did not
follow any sort of ordered succession.4
The height of Spickett and Still’s careers fall into the post-war art period when Abstract
Expressionism, an American art movement of 1940s and 1950s originally based in New York
City became popular across the United States and Canada. Asthis improvisational aesthetic
developed, it clustered into two distinct directions: a gestural and painterly form known as
Action Painting, and Colour-Field Painting, characterized by large, flat areas of uninterrupted
colour. Also thriving at the time was American art criticism, particularly that of New York art
critic Clement Greenberg. A champion of modern art criticism and defender of abstract art,
Greenberg wrote several critical essays which have been crucial in shaping our understanding of
abstract art today, as well as creating a standard for art criticism.5 There is a subtle underlying
American-ness to his articles, as suggested by the title of one of his best-known writings from
1955, “American-Type Painting,” which discusses Clyfford Still’s work at length.6 With the
prominence of abstract art and value of Greenberg’s criticism during this time, Canadian painters
of the Prairies sought the New-Yorker’s attention. In 1962 Greenberg, lead an Emma Lake
Professional Artists’ Workshop in Regina. By bringing in artists and critics from outside of the
province, these workshops aimed to help artists of the Canadian Prairies establish stronger
contacts with the international art scene. Following his visit to Regina, Greenberg toured the
Prairies to subsequently write an article “The Art of Prairie Canada” for Canadian Art. In
Calgary he met Ronald Spickett, where he was able to view and critique his paintings.7 Both Still
and Spickett reacted very negatively to Greenberg’s criticism. This exhibition will compare the
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
stylistic development and artistic principles of the two artists, as well as look at how they dealt
with Greenberg's criticism.
Clyfford Still PH-343 1937 Oil on canvas Clyfford Still Museum
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
During the late 1930s Clyfford Still develops a painterly approach suggesting a blend of
Surrealism, Social-Realism and Expressionism. In PH-343, Still’s figure on the right-hand side is
flattened and distorted, clenching a piece of machinery on the left side of the canvas. This
painting reflects Still’s theme of “man versus machine;” the canvas is evenly divided in the
middle, separating the two subjects. The faceless figure places his hand across the central border,
clutching the piece of machinery, suggesting their relationship. Both sides emphasize an effect of
verticality. The abstracted figure echoes the lines and shapes of the machine. In one of
Greenberg’s most notable essays, “American Type Painting,” written in 1955, the critic writes
that unlike virtually all of the Abstract Expressionists, Still arrived at his mature style with
almost no allusion to Cubism.8 Following this essay, Still wrote Greenberg an angry letter,
asking him not to comment on his work and stating that many of his comments were false, and
did not want any praise from the critic because other artists were becoming jealous. In the
opening paragraph, the artist wrote to Greenberg: “After taking the venom of Barnett Newman’s
jealousy for over two hours yesterday afternoon, it required some considerable control to see
your last effort in an objective relationship.”9 Still had strong disdain for art critics and art
institutions, denying most exhibition requests and disagreeing with critics’ statements.
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
Clyfford Still 1945-H 1945 228.6 cm x 175.59 cm Oil on canvas Collection San Francisco Museum of Modern Art http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/298
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
Clyfford Still took the idea of distortion further and further, making only distant references to
figuration, until eventually his paintings became non-representational. The jagged, organic,
vertical shapes of Still’s early abstract paintings, which began around 1944, still evoke the same
elongated human figure he previously painted. 1945-H shows similar elements to PH-343; two
abstract vertical shapes protrude from the bottom of the canvas, with a black vertical division in
the centre, creating a balance in the two compositions. The artist’s palette echoes that of the
previous painting, the same black, dark red, earthy browns, and off-white colours. In the years
following these paintings Still’s palette became brighter, his brushstrokes looser, and his
canvases larger. Greenberg named Still “one of the most original painters of our time,” and in his
essay “After Abstract Expressionism” (1963), the critic credited Still as a major influence on the
emergence of Colour-Field Painting.10 Still developed this new type of painting, most prominent
during the 1950s and 60s, based on immense canvases of simplified areas or “fields” of saturated
colour. The intentions of the Colour-Field painters were to create an abstract art suggestive of the
sublime. Although Greenberg and other prominent art critics such as Harold Rosenberg and
Robert Rosenblum frequently praised the artist, Still consistently refuted their comments and
embarked on a life-long campaign to restrict any interpretation of his work. In an attempt to
restrict interpretation of his work, Still removed all titles from his paintings in 1947 and never
again titled his paintings.11
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
Ronald Spickett Pasado - The Church of San Miguel de Allende [Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel] 72.8 x 115.9 cm 1956 Ducco enamel on cardboard Private collection, Calgary Ronald Spickett never wanted to be identified with only one “signature” style or art movement.
Much of his work of the late 1940s and 50s was inspired by the Social-Realist art movement of
Mexican muralism (including artists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro
Siqueiros), as well as the landscapes of Mexico. Spickett attended the Provincial Institute of
Technology and Art in Calgary from 1946-1949, where he was awarded a scholarship to spend a
year studying in Mexico. The painting Pasado exemplifies a transitional moment in his painting
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
following another visit to Mexico in 1956. The forms in Spickett’s paintings begin to dissolve
and become fractured, suggesting a Cubist approach to Mexican art.12 The separated
brushstrokes, two-dimensional modeling, and simplified forms of this painting mark the
beginning of Spickett’s shift to abstraction This change in 1956 was seen as a major turning
point in Spickett’s career.
Ronald Spickett Untitled 1959 181 x 121 cm Oil on Masonite Collection of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
Spickett’s landscapes break away from representational form; the separated square brushstrokes
in the Pasado painting transform into a covering of abstract lines and basic shapes. Untitled,
1959 is composed of layers of splattered paint: a blend of yellow and white lines cover a curtain
of red lines on top of a black base. These non-representational paintings have been compared to
works by the American Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock. In a lengthy Canadian Art
article of 1963 on Canadian abstract painting, Greenberg wrote of Spickett as a “big attack”
painter, and referred to his work as “the boldest abstract painting I saw in prairie Canada, and the
best and most ambitious I saw outside Regina.”13 He also criticized the artist’s work for being so
varied and experimental, stating that Spickett “failed to recognize his “message” when it came to
him.”14 Spickett, among other Western Canadian artists, did not take Greenberg’s criticism very
well at all. In the next issue of the journal, Spicket wrote a letter stating “Why Canadian Art
found it necessary to call upon the missionary from the Land of the Gods to examine the error of
our ways and our lack of light, and why the apostles from the same place visit the natives and
leave The New York Gospel, is an unhappy but loaded question. Luckily, ‘I missed his message
when it came.’”15
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
Ronald Spickett 1-23: Posse #3 1966 243.9 x 152.4 cm Mixed media on canvas The art collection of the Student’s Union, University of Alberta, Edmonton
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
By 1963 Spickett returned to a semi-figurative theme when he began his Rider and Posse series.
The term “Posse” comes from the Medieval Latin term Posse Comitatus, referring to the body of
persons that a peace officer or sheriff of a county is empowered to call upon for assistance in
preserving the peace.16 1-23: Posse #3, shows one or two figures on a horse, suggesting this
group of men on duty to maintain law and order. The subjects of the painting are painted in a
very abstract manner, with the rider hardly suggesting a human form. Forms are layered and
fused together on a blank orange background. 1-23: Posse #3 is an example of Spickett’s
paintings which combine elements of both figurative and abstract painting.
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
NOTES 1 David Anfam, “‘Of the Earth, the Damned, and of the Recreated’: Aspects of Clyfford Still's Earlier Work,” The Burlington Maazine 135:1081 (April 1993): 263. 2 James G. Todd, “Social Realism,” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, accessed December 20, 2012, http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.mercury.concordia.ca/subscriber/article/grove/art/T079466. 3 Todd. 4 Geoffrey Simmons and Ronald Spickett, Spirit Matters: Ron (gyo-Zo) Spickett, Artist, Poet, Lay-Priest (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2009) 16. 5 Daniel A. Siedell, “Contemporary Art Criticism and the Legacy of Clement Greenberg: Or, How Artwriting Earned Its Good Name,” Journal of Aesthetic Education 36:4 (Winter 2002): 17. 6 Claude Cernuschi, “The Politics of Abstract Expressionism,” Rev. of David Craven, Abstract Expressionism as Cultural Critique: Dissent during the McCarthy Period, Archives of American Art Journal 39:1/2 (The Smithsonian Institution, 1999): 38. 7 Simmons, 20. 8 Clement Greenberg, “‘American-Type’ Painting,” 1955, Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism, Ed. John O’Brian (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993) 228. 9 Clyfford E. Still, letter to Clement Greenberg, April 12, 1955, Archives of American Art, accessed December 20, 2012 http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/clyfford-e-still-letter-to-clement-greenberg-9430. 10 Greenberg, “‘American-Type’ Painting.” Clement Greenberg, “After Abstract Expressionism,” 1962, Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism, Ed. John O’Brian (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) 133. 11 Neal Benezra, “Clyfford Still’s Replicas,” Clyfford Still Paintings 1944-1960, Ed. James T. Demetrion (New Haven: Yale University Press) 88. 12 Simmons, 67. 13 Simmons, 23. 14 Simmons, 23. 15 Simmons, 24. 16 “Posse comitatus,” Dictionary.com unabridged, Random House, Inc., accessed December 21, 2012 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/posse comitas.
ARTH 648B-2 Envisioning Digital and Virtual Forms of Exhibitions: The Curatorial Translation of Theory into Practice, 2012
BIBLIOGRAPHY Anfam, David. “‘Of the Earth, the Damned, and of the Recreated:’ Aspects of Clyfford Still's Earlier Work.” The Burlington Magazine 135:1081 (April 1993): 260-269.
Benezra, Neal. “Clyfford Still’s Replicas.” Clyfford Still Paintings 1944-1960. Ed. James T. Demetrion. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Cernuschi, Claude. “The Politics of Abstract Expressionism.” Rev. of Craven, David, Abstract Expressionism as Cultural Critique: Dissent during the McCarthy Period. Archives of American Art Journal 39:1/2 (1999): 30-42. Greenberg, Clement. “After Abstract Expressionism.” 1962. Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism. Ed. John O’Brian. Vol. 4. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. 121-134. Greenberg, Clement. “‘American-Type’ Painting.’” 1955. Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism. Ed. John O’Brian. Vol. 2. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. 217-235. “Posse comitatus.” Dictionary.com unabridged. Random House, Inc. Accessed December 21, 2012 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/posse comitas. Siedell, Daniel A. “Contemporary Art Criticism and the Legacy of Clement Greenberg: Or, How Artwriting Earned Its Good Name.” Journal of Aesthetic Education 36:4 (Winter 2002): 15-31. Simmins, Geoffrey, and Ronald Spickett. Spirit Matters: Ron (gyo-Zo) Spickett, Artist, Poet, Lay-Priest. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2009.
Still, Clyfford E. Letter to Clement Greenberg. April 12, 1955. Archives of American Art. Accessed December 20, 2012 http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/clyfford-e-still-letter-to-clement-greenberg-9430.
Todd, James G. “Social Realism.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed December 20, 2012 http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.mercury.concordia.ca/subscriber/article/grove/art/T079466.