Elynne Rosenfeld

Center Space Variation X    oil on canvas     48″ X 56″      1977

My masters thesis exhibit was called Approaching The Center. Each large canvas was entitled Center Space Variation and numbered. The average size was 5’ X 6’  On my committee were two abstract painters and a philosopher specializing in Aesthetics. The written part discussed how an intricate piece of music is able to send a listener into much the same space as the visual experience of a fine artwork, each of these able to bring one to a higher plane of consciousness – While we are never able to reach the center of the universe I made the argument for trying.

All the work had a focal point that was not quite central. Three-pronged lozenge forms representing organic life tied areas together as did the layered spirals of opposite colors. My intent was to create a room full of pulsating spaces reminiscent of both the micro and macrocosmic. Throughout the exhibition, Bartok’s String Quartet # 2 played in the background as this was the auditory sensation that inspired the visual imagery.

It’s funny now to look back on these canvases, painted before complex color photography of the universe became commonplace on the web. Before the web, for that matter.

Look out World! It was 1977 and Elynne thought she was about to change everyone’s perception of art.