Grosse Wolke (Big Cloud), 1965
- Medium
- Paint and nails on canvas and particle board
- Dimensions
- 68 5/8 x 68 3/4 x 4in. (174.3 x 174.6 x 7.3 cm)
- Accession Number
- 97.110
- Credit
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Gift of Lannan Foundation
Chiaroscuro,
the Italian term for the contrast of light and shade, is a foundational technique
of classical painting. Günther Uecker achieved chiaroscuro in his monochromaticGrosse Wolke(Big cloud)by hammering nails into a canvas-covered particle board
surface. Uecker compared the protruding nails, which cast real shadows, to sundials
that make time visible. The round nail heads echo the circular “cloud” composition
into which they are set. Rather than create an image with a brush and paint,
Uecker aggressively and repeatedly attacked the canvas with a hammer and nails.
The chiaroscuro that results is not an illusionistic representation, but a
literal effect of variable external lighting projected onto the three-dimensional
surface.