Coordinative Thinking on the Square and Rectangle; Per, IV 1974

Alfred Jensen’s *Coordinative Thinking on the Square and Rectangle; Per, IV* is a painting of many squares, each filled with thickly applied oil paint and a number. Look closely and you'll see how the material itself is key to understanding this work. Jensen used oil paint in a way that emphasizes its physical presence. Each dab of color is built up, creating a heavily textured surface. This isn't about creating an illusion; it's about the inherent qualities of the paint itself. Jensen’s obsessive application of paint evokes the repetitive, almost meditative, processes often associated with craft traditions, yet he uses these to very different ends than most artisans. Rather than creating a functional or decorative object, he’s exploring complex mathematical and philosophical ideas. The act of painting becomes a form of intellectual labor. He is imbuing the painting with both a sense of painstaking effort, but also a kind of personal, idiosyncratic meaning. In doing so, Jensen challenges us to reconsider the relationship between art, labor, and knowledge itself.