Page 55 - Studio International - January 1969

come out more sharply— colour as pigment and reflection, something to visualize, which one 3
colour as quality. The concrete form of the notes immediately. In contrast the relation Still from Steve Dwoskin's Take me
4
appearance of colour—its material and physical in Denny's pictures is basically reversed: they One of Robyn Denny's Colour Box suite, screenprint
on acrylic sheets, 24 x 20 in. (framed)
presence—is clarified by the diverse levels 01 are objects which force the viewer into spon-
the planes. Difference in colour is also differ- taneous activity. The picture is an invitation
ence in mass. On the other hand, the immedi- to become productive in its frame; the work
ate sensation of colour gains in intensity: the itself appresents the viewer, not the other way
depth of tonal quality of shade loses the sem- round. For Denny the autonomy of art means
blance of mere illusion and becomes through not only that the picture is independent of
the stacking in space a real event. the existence of the viewer. He understands
Precisely, the precision of the colour elements by autonomy that the work itself is the reason
favours 'a more ambiguous interplay', as for the effect it has—the participation of the
Denny himself says. viewer.
Finally, the stacking principle allows the The Colour Box series shows again that Robyn
parallel between use of colour and the formal Denny's art is to a large extent classical art.
elements to become clear. The structure There is no need for reference on the part of
of these multiples is hierarchical and rectangu- the viewer to relate the picture to one's own The viewer experiences through the pheno-
lar, its colour matte and even; structure and experience of the world; that by-passes the menon of the horizon what 'world' means :
colour are on the surface. The other aspect of essence of Denny's art. The relationship to the one is part of it, no matter how much one may
Denny's work is based on the fact that imme- picture is determined not by the viewer, only try to visualize it as an object of awareness.
diate discovery accompanies objective con- by the work itself. The natural tendency to In daily life the world is usually obscured by
templation, and this sees the structure as archi- relate oneself to things in the world is suspend- the things in it. Robyn Denny's work, how-
tecture, the colour rich and deep; architecture ed; the participation of the viewer excludes ever, makes 'World' manifest in almost abso-
and tonality constitute the picture. The unity his taking other things into consideration. In lute purity in as much as all relations to things
of form and colour within these categories is a this sense the horizon of the picture opens in it are barred. Denny's art does not make
basic principle of Robyn Denny's work. But before the viewer. He remains in the picture, things visible, but man seeing.
never before did he separate out his compo- even when he tries to make it an object. ROBERT KUDIELKA
nents so analytically as in the objects of the
Colour Box.
The unity of picture components corresponds
to the unity of impact. The artificiality of the
separation between 'immediate' and 'objec-
tive' reveals itself in the ambivalence which
characterizes the elements of viewing. In
Colour Box I for instance the eye moves
immediately into the picture when it keeps to
the two violet steps of the entry image. (Denny
suggests the picture be hung only a few inches
off the floor.) The three red areas which are
graduated from the frame towards the centre,
represent the objective unity of the work;
their concentric structure hinders the penetra-
tion of the eye. The relation, however, becomes
the exact opposite when the viewer starts from
the perimeter edge (contours?) of the picture.
The sequence of the three red areas causes an
immediate concentration on the focal point
of the picture, because the relation of the pic-
ture to the proportions of the human figure
does not permit a renewed confrontation. The
two violet right angles, the corner stones of the
entry image, now appear as a disturbing
obstruction; they establish the distance of the
object. The ambiguity of the picture pheno-
menon reveals the ambiguity of the onlooker's
position: he is in front of the picture as well as
in it, he is participant and viewer at the same
time. The presence of Denny's work is deter-
mined by the co-presence of the viewer. The
Colour Boxes only become objects of confronta-
tion when one 'enters' them. Experience and
awareness of experience constitute a peculiar
unity which appears to fall into the pheno-
menal-logical category of `appresentation'.
This conception however is misleading if it is
understood in its usual context; because it
signifies, generally speaking, the power of
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