Morris Louis, American, 1912-1962
Intrigue, 1954
One of the first things we learn as children are the colors of the rainbow; colors help us describe objects and connect with the world around us. The colors used by painter Morris Louis are physically tainted with toxins. As described by Laura Turner Igoe in her chapter, “Creative Matter: Tracing the Environmental Context of Materials in American Art” (from Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment), Louis used turpentine, among other toxins, which has a history of negatively impacting communities and the environment. This painting is an example of how something meant to be beautiful can have terrible environmental and cultural consequences. It is important for environmentalists and art historians to look beyond the painting itself and analyze the physical materials from which the artwork was created. Label by Lindsey Smith