In Flash, the warmth of yellow is contrasted with the cool, light absorbing qualities of black to produce an intense juxtaposition of a fiery flash of heat with the cool darkness of the surrounding air. This sudden, intense flash of heat and energy could be anything – a spontaneous fire, a flash of lightning, or an electrical spark. Yet the sense of surprise and danger is the same in each of these. This surprising interspersing of heat in the surrounding air is the experience captured in the broad strokes and dense color saturation of this painting.
The mixing of black with yellow reveals the way that the electrical and heat energy of the flash is mixed with the air around it. This produces a sense of immediacy, as though the flash is an instantaneous event. This instantaneous quality is more suggestive of a flash of lightning or an electrical spark, which can disappear just as quickly as it appears. Soon after the flash, the air will be cool again, the black overtaking the yellow, but for the instant captured in Flash, the air is teeming with light and bursting with energy.
©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved
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