3 sheets from "9 x 5 konkret" 1973

Curator: Morellet's "3 sheets from \"9 x 5 konkret," created in 1973, presents an intriguing puzzle of hard-edged forms and minimalist aesthetics. The piece emphasizes color interaction within a strictly defined geometric space. What is your first impression? Editor: It reminds me of a densely packed circuit board, or a cross-stitched quilt, something functional blown out to the scale of 'art'. I am intrigued by the sheer repetition of material. Curator: Repetition is crucial here. Morellet deliberately restricts his palette and relies on the systematic distribution of color within the grid to create optical effects. Look closely; does it strike you as completely random, or is there a system, however veiled? Editor: I'm curious about how this "random" distribution actually occurs. Was it chance, or was this the output of a program meticulously coded to mimic chance? It looks to me like some human agent, not quite in control. It’s always important to acknowledge that nothing occurs in a vacuum; where and how did Morellet fabricate this work? Curator: Indeed. His background, deeply rooted in geometric abstraction, drove him towards the calculated systems seen here. The essence of Minimalism lies in that very reduction, and the elimination of gesture. Here, the hand becomes less apparent. He allows the system to unfold before our eyes. The black grid acts as the substructure to the artwork's semiotic play. Editor: True, yet I feel it's also about the act of labor and time involved to painstakingly create each work by hand. There’s a commitment of the artist and those materials within the system itself. That dedication warrants appreciation. Curator: And through that system, Morellet encourages our eyes to create connections, to seek patterns where perhaps none truly exist in the intentional sense. The color relationship creates its own world within the confines of a flat grid. Editor: Right, an industrial, minimalist labor resulting in art. The tension between control and chaos gives that structure its energy. Something to reflect on further. Curator: A generative composition of the square unit resulting from rigid execution yields much perceptual play. Thank you.