Name/Title
Black to Blue Folds and CutsEntry/Object ID
2019.33Description
Painted canvas shaped into pleats, mounted to a wooden frame. Canvas painted with blue and black.Artwork Details
Medium
Acrylic on shaped canvasContext
Jean Alexander Frater approaches painting as if it were sculpture. She folds, tears, and cuts the painted canvas to create grids, stripes, and patterns. Her goal is to be both creator and collaborator-- to let chance operations or the nature of the material determine the final form of the piece. Frater’s work invites us to think about the acts of folding and cutting and what they might mean from a philosophical standpoint. Folding is a gesture that creates additional space, hidden from view, in the picture plane. The bulges and irregularities of the folds suggest internal thoughts, concealed intentions, or things withheld. The cut canvas relies on tension to stay in place, but the twisted and sagging strips remind us that at some point gravity and entropy will inevitably get the best of everyone. A cut may also imply violence or separation. The cut may in fact, be the antithesis of the fold. A cut is direct, permanent, and aggressive, while a fold is soft, reversible, and subtle.Acquisition
Accession
2019.26-64, 72-78Source or Donor
Browne GoodwinAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Browne and Diane GoodwinMade/Created
Artist
Jean Alexander FraterDate made
2017Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Height
15-3/4 inWidth
27-3/4 inDepth
3 inDimension Notes
40 cm. x 70.48 cm. x 7.62 cm.