Barnett Newman’s Slashed Paintings
For OG readers you’ll remember that one of the first posts ever was about the slashing of Newman’s Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue III but he actually had two other instances of people attacking his works.
Barnett Newman
Let’s do a little background since it’s been a while since we talked about Barnett Newman. He was born on January 29, 1905, in New York City to two Jewish immigrants from Poland. He did a number of things before becoming an artist such as studying philosophy, working in a garment manufacturing company, working as a teacher, writer, and critic before starting to create paintings in the 1930s. These early works were in an expressionist style but he eventually destroyed all of them.
He worked as an artist as well as writing catalogue forwards, reviews, and organizing shows to help break into the art world and develop a reputation for himself. After briefly working in a surrealist style in the 1940s he developed his signature style of painting; large planes of colour separated by thin vertical lines (or as he called them, zips).
He was largely unappreciated as an artist during his lifetime, with the acclaim coming following his death in 1970.
First Attack
The first attack against a Newman painting occurred in 1982 when a veterinary medical student slashed Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue IV. The painting was on display at the time at the Nationalgalerie Museum in Berlin. The student claimed that the painting offended and scared them, claiming that it was a “perversion of the German flag” (Alberti’s Window, 2016).
I couldn’t find a lot about the restoration process or the repercussions for this student but hopefully, they didn’t get off scot-free.
Second Attack
This one was covered more in my early post but again I’ll give a little recap. In March of 1986, Gerard Jan van Bladeren walked into the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam with a box cutter and slashed eight incisions into the painting Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue III. Van Balderen was a realist painter who rejected modern art and wanted to turn Newman’s painting into a symbol of this rejection and transform it with this attack.
As I detailed in the other article an intensive restoration process was undertaken where the painting was fixed but also kind of ruined depending on who you ask. Since the attack and subsequent “restoration” Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue III has been held in storage until conservators can figure out what they can do.
After the attack, van Bladeren was arrested and served five months in jail.
Third Attack
When van Bladeren was released from jail he behaved himself for over 10 years. Then in 1997 he calmly walked back into the Stedelijk Museum with a Stanley-brand knife. Since he was making a statement about his rejection of modern art with his slashing of Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue III, he was furious about the restoration. He said in a radio interview that he was “angry that the painting had been restored, thereby undoing his work. He said he returned to find the painting and strike again” (Vogel, 1997).
Instead of finding the painting, he was after (since it is in protective custody) he happened upon another painting by Newman, Catherda. He slashed this painting, with the knife that he had brought with him, seven times. After the attack he made no attempt to flee, he leaned against the wall and calmly waited for the police to arrive.
Because of the insanely chaotic restoration process of Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue III the museum decided to use their own conservators to restore Cathedra. It was a monumental task because of the varied layers of paint and the lack of figures or design elements to hide the restoration process. The museum seems to be happy with the efforts though since the painting is back on display.
In the Netherlands, the crime of vandalism is a lesser charge than in the USA (where it would be a felony) so van Bladeren only faced a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of no more than $15,000. Bummer.
Works Cited
Alberti’s Window. “Barnett Newman’s Slashed Paintings”. Alberti’s Window An Art History Blog. 2016. http://albertis-window.com/2016/06/barnett-newmans-slashed-paintings/
Vogel, Carol. “Dutch Vandal Slashes Museums’ Confidance”. The New York Times. 1997. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/27/arts/dutch-vandal-slashes-museums-confidence.html