Die Fahne Hoch! (Frank Stella)
| Die Fahne Hoch! | |
|---|---|
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York |
Die Fahne Hoch! is an enamel on canvas painting by American artist
Description and analysis
The use of basic geometric systems in the work is regarded by many as the precursor of Minimalism. The painting was made by marking equal subdivisions along the sides, bottom and top edges of the canvas and using these intervals to generate simple, symmetrical patterns consisting of bands of black enamel paint separated by thin lines of unpainted canvas.
Stella gave the work a provocative title, Die Fahne Hoch!, which means Raise the Flag!, in German, that is first line of the anthem of the
Horst-Wessel-Lied", and is one of three paintings in the series that make direct reference to Nazism. By applying a hotly emotive title to the image, Stella's ironic purpose was that of destabilizing the idea of meaning itself.[2][3]
The
Abstract Expressionism and anticipated the geometry and rigor of Minimalism."[4]