Alruccabah 1964

Editor: Paul Feeley’s “Alruccabah,” created in 1964 using acrylic paint, features these undulating, nested rectangles. It strikes me as simultaneously playful and carefully planned, the way those organic shapes are built one inside the other. What catches your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: The emphasis for me is on the making of this work, its physical construction and the artist’s choices of specific paints and layering techniques to create these slightly irregular, vibrant surfaces. Look closely - what can you observe about the consistency of the acrylic, and how that choice affects the overall visual effect? How do those variations in paint application affect your perception of the work? Editor: Well, the layering is interesting because it isn't perfectly smooth. There are slight variations in the color density, making it seem less mass-produced and more handmade, I think. How does that link with Abstract Expressionism, though? Curator: Exactly! These visible marks of the artist's hand push against the sleek, manufactured feel that acrylics can sometimes evoke. Feeley, despite aligning with Modernism and Abstract Expressionism, really blurred boundaries. Considering the societal fascination with industrial production at the time, the conscious, almost defiant choice of evident handwork using an industrialized medium, it pushes us to think about value and skill. Where did Abstract Expressionism challenge or engage with broader mid-century cultures of production and consumption? Editor: That's fascinating; it definitely gives me a new appreciation for the tension between the organic shapes and the manufactured medium. It feels almost like a statement on art's place in a world becoming increasingly industrialized. Curator: Precisely! Examining "Alruccabah" through this lens lets us appreciate not just the image, but also the physical decisions embedded within its creation, sparking a rich dialogue about art, labor, and the modern world. What a great thing to think about when standing in front of such a visually simple work!