What does Barnett Newman have to do with David Tyree?

That, I suppose, is the question of the day.

Barnett Newman is, of course, the abstract expressionist whose works were characterized by a field of color separated by one or more thin vertical lines of paint. "Zip" was the term he coined for the line(s).

Here's one, called Onement 1 (1948):



I always thought Barnett was full of shit. But this, I guess, is a point upon which the Museum of Modern Art and I have chosen to disagree. Pretty ugly freaking painting, yes?

The one below is a little nicer. More glowingly Rothko-esque, if you will.



But still, c'mon. And besides, we haven't even gotten to David Tyree (who we see here giving the New England Patriots some head cheese).



So one of the challenges I was bitching and moaning about in a previous post was the relatively static nature of the image. It lacked dynamism.

So, in addition to doing a lot of other stuff--like pruning the back of the Pat's uniform so it seemed like he was more engaged in he struggle, and quantifying the fact that the brownish shmoo to the left of the Pat's helmet was, in fact, his right biceps, and adding numbers and mise en scene as appropriate, I added a zip.

A horizontal one--but a zip nonetheless.



Can you see it? It's yellow. And in a strange sort of way, it's made all the difference in the world. I love its thick fluidity. That makes me feel really good.

That said, it also make me feel dirty, in a way. I wonder if, given all the bad things I've done in my life, that one yellow zip will be the thing that ends up sending me to Hell.

But hey, we're about thinking positive thoughts here at TYOMP. You should see the painting now, by the way. Much additional work has been done and it's really starting to come together. I'm spending a lot of time deciding where to put the words Tyree debunks alleged housing crisis; says "What bobble?"

We should all, I suppose, have such vexing problems.