Barnett Newman
1. To us art is an adventure into an unknown world,
which can be explored only by those willing to take
the risks.
2. This world of imagination is fancy-free and violently
opposed to common sense.
3. It is our function as artists to make the spectator see
the world our way not his way.
4. We favor the simple expression of the complex thought.
We are for the large shape because it has the impact of
the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane.
We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and
reveal truth.
5. It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it
does not matter what one paints as long as it is well
painted. This is the essence of academicism.
There is no such thing as a good painting about nothing.
We assert that the subject is crucial and only that
subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.
That is why we profess spiritual kinship with primitive
and archaic art.