The Whim of Tituba 1979

Tony DeLap’s "The Whim of Tituba" is a painting with an edge – literally! It’s mostly white, except for this black diamond in the corner that’s like, trying to escape the canvas. You know, I can imagine DeLap in his studio, pushing and pulling at this idea. The sleekness of the surface, that almost perfect white, it’s so controlled. Then comes the whim of the title, and that rogue black shape twisting the corner of the canvas out of shape. It reminds me of some of the Op art guys and their clean lines, but there's a glitch here. Like someone decided to mess with the machine. I wonder, what if the white and the black started talking to each other? Artists are always chatting across time and space, messing with each other's ideas. It’s like we're all in a big, messy, beautiful conversation. It reminds me that painting doesn’t need to be so serious all the time; sometimes, it’s good to let the whim take over.