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'How It Works': Stroke, Music, And Minimalism In Robert Ryman's Early Paintings, Vittorio Colaizzi

Art Faculty Publications

Robert Ryman's white paintings have, not surprisingly, been associated with minimalism, but the sensuality of his work and his disassociation from minimalism's critical discourse have also been emphasized. Art historian James Meyer's concept of the “minimal field,” or terrain of difference, allows us to forgo a debate about whether Ryman is or is not a minimalist, and instead to closely examine this painter's motivations and achievements. While Ryman shares the rigid anti‐illusionism of many artists of his generation, his work also has important connections with the jazz music that brought him to New York in the first place and with …