Michael Welzenberg Where Are You Essay

Carol Brown Goldberg is a 20th century artist. Her abstract piece on display at the Reading Public Museum entitled, Michael Welzenberg, Where Are You? creates a lustrous environment for inquisitive deliberation. The massive piece, done using acrylic on canvas and pulverized glass, was completed in 2007 and stands roughly seven feet by eight feet. Everything about the piece completely engulfs the viewer’s attention with its use of colorful design, size, and over all layout. At first the colors used in the image allude to a state of confused happiness. The perfectly aligned purple dots establish a sense of order, while also transitioning from dark to light and back to dark, only stopping to create a non-dotted focal point. This gradient adds depth to the work, while the focal point allows for a space in the piece for viewers to individually interpret their own feelings and opinions.

These points are presented in a vivid golden color and are done to create a contrast to the organization that the purple dots represented. Not only are these points stenciled in amongst the dots, but also in the non-dotted focal point as well. This gives a sense of disorder to the previously established order by the dots, and even disrupting the clarity provided by the non-dotted focal point. Goldberg then goes on to portray usage of action painting by splattering multiple different colors all over the canvas. This creates a feeling of almost chaos to the order portrayed by the dots. Even the golden designs are splashed with paint in opposition of their detail. This adds a sense of inner confusion or conflict. While the other two elements of the painting, though conflicting, have a sense of order and design. The usage of action painting portrays inner anguish or turmoil with absolutely no rhyme or reason at