Contemporay Art - Frank Stella

The piece of contemporary artwork that I found is titled Harran II is by Frank Stella. Frank Stella is an American painters and printmaker who was born on May 12, 1936.  Stella went to Princeton and is regarded as one of the most well known postwar American painters.  This particular piece is a very colorful piece that is just made up of circles and squares.  The work of art was completed in 1967.  It is a made from polymer and fluorescent polymer paint on a canvas.  The painting does not seem like it would be very complex to make, it reminds me almost of a doodle I would draw in the margin of my notebook.  The piece of artwork is part of the beginning of Stella's Protractor series.  The artist really seemed to put a lot of thought into his piece as it is made up of defined pairs of horizontal and vertical lines that intersect at right angles.  He is said to have brought abstract and decorative painting together in a way that goes against traditions.  Harran II follows a motif that is present throughout most of the series.  The title of this piece and most of the other paintings in the series come from ancient cities in Asia Minor.   Although at first I found it to be rather simple, I realize that there is actually more to it.  The overlapping circles and squares make the design unique.  The colors are very bright and vibrant, grabbing my attention and giving it a retro look.