Technical Studies

Using a range of invasive and non-invasive scientific methods of analysis, the project team determined the exact nature of the types of binding media and pigments used, as well as gleaned information about the way in which these materials were used and manipulated.

Considering the very specific visual vocabulary of geometric abstraction, particular attention was paid to how the lines and edges of the compositional elements were painted. Some artists preferred to devise their shapes freehand, without the help of aids except pencil lines to guide their hands, while others perfected the use of a ruling pen, and still others adapted self-adhesive tape to their purposes.

One of the questions the project team addressed is why Argentine concrete artists tended to stay away from tape, while the majority of Brazilian artists made liberal and uncommonly creative use of it. What influence did the practices of European artists such as Piet Mondrian, Georges Vantongerloo and Max Bill, to whom both groups looked for guidance, exert in this regard?

Banner: Judith Lauand, Quatro grupos de elementos, 1959 (detail). © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York /AUTVIS, Sao Paulo.

Page updated: August 2019