Analysis

Both artists mentioned below are similar in the way that they are both pioneers of the Minimalism art movement, and their artworks consists of the following elements and principles of design:


Elements of Design:

• Line: the edge created when two different shapes meet (found in both artists' artworks). Line also communicates emotion (aim in Minimalism art movement) and states of mind through its direction and character.
• Shapes: both artists' artworks contain shapes (circles, geometric shapes, squares, etc.). However, in Ellsworth Kelly's work, his oddly shaped canvases alone also represent the element of shape in his artwork. Also like Kelly, Frank Stella started using shaped canvases (mostly T shaped).
• Direction: there is a movement in the works of the artists' (e.g. Red, Yellow, Blue - our eyes automatically move from left to right, from big to small, from bright to dark)
• Colour: both artists use a lot of primary colours in their artwork, redefining the theory of Minimalism. In Red, Yellow, Blue, especially, there is a triadic harmony of the three colors.
• Typography: no typography were used in both artist's artworks.

Principles of Design:

• Unity: both artists' artworks have repetition and continuation in their artworks (in terms of color, shapes and lines)
• Emphasis: not really an emphasis on one particular focal point, but rather a contrast in the colors used
• Balance: there is a symmetrical balance in some of the artists' artworks, used by the repetition of shapes and color. In this case, balance is achieved through perfect symmetry.
• Space: the artists maximizes the use of space on their canvases, therefore not really creating a positive or negative space.
• Rhythm: there is a repetition in the work, therefore it achieves rhythm.

Frank Stella

Frank Stella has been known for helping to launch the Minimalism movement. First impacting the art world by endowing non-representational artwork with new significance, Stella's instantly acclaimed 1958 Minimalist paintings contrasted Abstract Expressionism's emotional canvases. He has constantly reinvented himself, creating increasingly textured, dynamic and vivid work.

Although he began creating art when Abstract Expressionism's gestural brushstrokes were the dominant technique, Stella painted flat, smooth works that led the art world in another direction, towards Minimalism. Stella was an early advocate of making non-representational paintings, rather than artwork that alluded to underlying meanings, emotions or narratives. Like Ellsworth Kelly, he wanted his audience to appreciate color, shape and structure alone. Stella changed the very notion of a painting by declaring his flat canvases, structured reliefs, metal protrusions and freestanding sculptures all to be paintings.

Some of Stella's work include:

Frank Stella has been a pioneer in the art world for four decades, beginning with his early fascination with Minimalism to his current love of sculptural line space and movement.

Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly has been a widely influential force in the post-war art world. He first rose to critical acclaim in the 1950s with his bright, multi-paneled and largely monochromatic canvases. Maintaining a persistent focus on the dynamic relationships between shape, form and color.

Kelly was one of the first artists to create irregularly shaped canvases. His rectangular panels gave way to unconventionally shaped canvases, painted in bold, monochromatic colors. At the same time, he was also making sculptures comprised of flat shapes and bright color. His sculptures were largely two-dimensional and shallow, more so than his paintings. In his works, Kelly placed primary importance in form and shape.

One very famous work of Ellsworth Kelly is the "Red, Yellow, Blue", pictured below:

His monochrome canvas redefine the beauty and drama of the single-color process. Color is the actor on this stage, the figure that transfixes the audience's gaze. These colors and shapes become part of the subconscious of the viewer, who feels the reds, blues, yellows as emotions.

Quoting Ellsworth Kelly, he said, "The form of my painting is content. My work is made of single or multiple panels: rectangle, curved or square. I am less interested in marks on the panels than the "presence" of the panels themselves. In 'Red, Yellow, Blue', the square panels present color. It was made to exist forever in the present; it is an idea and can be repeated anytime in the future."

Some of Ellsworth Kelly's work:

His work further challenged viewer's conceptions of space. Ellsworth Kelly vitally influenced the development of Minimalism, Hard-edge Painting, Color Field, and Pop Art.