The Lamp

The Lamp is a prime example of Frank Stella's later work that embraced illusion, as opposed to his earlier works which remained flat without inducing depth. It protrudes from the wall in grand motions with overlapping pieces of painted aluminium. The Lamp is an assemblage that cannot simply be categorized as either painting or sculpture. It is a piece from Stella's Waves series, whereby each work received its name directly from chapter titles in Melville's Moby Dick. Stella sought to capture the tumult and movement in Melville's book. He views the writing as pictorial in its rhythms and tried to employ that in shapes. Starting in the late 1970's, the distinct logic seen in Stella's work moved to arbitrariness. Forms shifted from the methodical to the irregular.