Keith Carlton Robertson and Barbara Rose: Comparison Report

Keith Carlton Robertson, the great American writer was born in 1914. He completed his graduation in 1937 from the United States Naval Academy and after that he worked as a captain during the Second World War and his service continued there till his retirement. He married Elizabeth Woodburn and had four children. One of his major works is ‘Henry Reed Inc’ which won the William Allen White Award. He died in 1991 and he is well known under the pen name Carlton Keith. After his death, his children contributed his works to the University of Lowa Libraries. Keith Robertson’s work “On White space/When Less is more” was first published in 1991 in I.D Magazine in its September/October edition.

The term “White space” is an important thing in graphic design. The existence of white space in the art is the representation of straightforwardness, of class, of the core of improvement. The deficiency of white space means it is the mark of rudeness, lack of taste and so on. “Because white space is the supreme symbol of class, it is difficult to disentangle it from our other art values, because to do so, makes you question where images and styles come from in the first place and why we are reproducing them.” (Robertson 1994).

Keith Robertson’s “On White space/When Less is more” discusses the privileging placement over content in art and design. In this book Robertson describes the definitive value of White space in graphic design though it lacks content. White space is a variable in graphic design and is used to draw a range of flavour from a cheap to good quality. Thus “the presence of white space is a symbol of smart, of class, of simplicity, of the essence of reinforcement and the absence of white space is a symbol of vulgarity, of crassness, of bad taste.” (Robertson 1994, p.61). There is also the description of the attitude of modernism towards the white space in graphic design. They have no favourable attitude towards white space in design as they are on the way of painting about new subjects and image making. Taking modern aesthetic in art and design is also discussed in the book and suggest that it is meaningful with its value as aesthetic is the expression of value and the symbolization of somewhat through aesthetic arrangement will be effective with its value. Robertson clams that “if, for instance white space is the ultimate value in graphic design as I clamed earlier, then to package perfume in a plain, glossy white box and to label it in the simplest, smallest black sans-serif lettering possible would be the most logical device to ascribe ultimate high class to that product.” (Robertson 1994, p.62).

Barbara Rose, one of the famous American art critics and historians was born in 1937 in Washington DC. She completed her education from the famous Smith College, Barnard College and Columbia University. She and Michael Chapman, who became a cinematographer later, led a close relationship as it was he who took initiative action to introduce her to the budding artist of the modern age like Carl Andre, Frank Stella. Frank Stella married Rose in 1962 and they led a happy life with their children. The art historian Michael Fried was a godfather as he supported her to write criticism.

Barbara Rose wrote her work “ABC Art” in 1965 which describes about the minimalist art and received the award in 1966 and during this period she became a foremost person in the modernist world of art. In 1967 they moved to California and her husband got a good position in university. In 1900 Rose published her work based on the survey of 20th century’s American art. In the same year she started to work in the college Sarah Lawrence to teach about the history of art. Later she and her husband divorced and she settled in Italy. She worked as an editor in several newspapers. Rose is not at all interested to be known as a critic. “Of her methodology, she wrote, “My approach has been empirical and pragmatic: I attempt to describe the phenomena observed before making a judgment regarding its meaning and quality. I have also focused on the intended role and function of the art in question as opposed to employing a prior category of judgment.” (Rose, Barbara E[llen] n.d.). Her concept in modern art was deep rooted in her and her association in the art world made her to reject the arguments of Serge Guibualt that “the emergence was anything more than organic and spontaneous.” (Rose, Barbara E[llen] n.d.).

Barbara rose was the first art historian who used the term Minimal art and in her article ‘ABC Art’ she explained ‘art pared down to a minimum’. In this article she describes the major minimalist painters and their paintings and also the minimal style and its characteristics. She also points out the minimal features in various works of great painters and it is clearly revealed through her writing “one might as easily construe the new, reserved impersonality and self effacing anonymity as a reaction against the self indulgence of an un-bridled subjectivity as much as one might see it in terms of a formal reaction to the excesses of painterliness.” (Rose 1995) In her view minimalism comprises the lattice paintings of Agnes Martin and Robert Ryman and arithmetical paintings of Robert Mangold and Brice Marden. The ABC art works have the style which is directly related to the style of sculpture and are liberated from the hands of the artists. Barbara Rose points out some examples of great painters such as Donald Judd, Richard Serra and Carl Andre along with their grand works. Dan Flavin, the famous painter drawn some paintings used by fluorescent light tubes but Frank Stella and Robert Morris used different type of materials such as pliable metals and canvas used for her painting. Thus, in this article Barbara tries to point out the importance of minimal art through the works of these painters and their most regarded paintings. All these examples and descriptions are enough for understanding better about the art; design its significance and also the privileging placement over content in art and design.

Both the texts and the points are apt to the examined topic as they deal with the significance of art and its impact. The points in the books are directly connected to the topic they deal with art, design and content especially the American formalism, minimalism and privileging placement over content in art and design.

Reference List

1. Robertson, K 1994, On white space: when less is more: abstract, Swinburne Research Bank.
2. Robertson, K 1994, Common wealth of Australia: on white space/ when less is more, Bierut, M., Drenttel, W., Heller, S., & Holland, DK (ed.), Looking Closer: Critical Writings on graphic Design, Alloworth Press, New York.
3. Robertson, K 1994, Common wealth of Australia: on white space/ when less is more: taking on the modern Aesthetic, Bierut, M, Drenttel, W, Heller, S & Holland, DK (ed.), Looking Closer: Critical Writings on graphic Design, Alloworth Press, New York.
4. Rose, Barbara E[llen]n.d., Dictionary of Art Historians. Web.
5. Rose, B 1995, Common wealth of Australia: ‘A B C art’, Battcock, G (ed.), Minimal Art: a Critical Anthology, University of California Press, Berkeley.