Peinture angulaire. Les deux bandes blanches extrêmes sont recouvertes de peinture blanche

Description

'Peinture angulaire' was made by the French artist Daniel Buren. A length of canvas with alternating orange and white vertical stripes hangs in the corner of the museum gallery. The canvas is attached to the wall in such a way that each side has the same number of stripes. Every stripe is exactly 8.7 cm wide, except for two white stripes on the outer edge: these are about half as wide. The penultimate white stripes have been painted over with white acrylic paint. The lower edge of the canvas begins exactly above the skirting board, while the top of the canvas ends at the edge of the ceiling.

For a time, Daniel Buren used awning canvas with vertical stripes of the same width for his works. Within one work he opted for a particular colour alternating with white. In order to retain the relationship with painting he often painted over one or more white stripes, usually the outer one, and the stripes became his signature. In addition to using awning canvas, Buren sometimes used other textiles, paper, wood or plastic for his work. The form of the work was always related to the place where it was executed or exhibited. Ideas about art and about matters which play a role in the creation and acceptance of art have a central place in Buren’s work and it is therefore considered to be conceptual art.

Buren’s work can be seen not only in museums and galleries, but also in public places in cities, for example, on billboards, city buses, underground stations and as flags in the street. The place and the situation in which the work is created and exhibited are important for Buren because he uses the place where his work is shown to indicate that “art is created within a strictly defined context”. If it is exhibited in a gallery or museum, the work immediately acquires the status of a work of art, but in a public place it is usually not immediately recognized as art. The stripes can sometimes be considered as decoration or as an advertising message that is not entirely clear. Nevertheless, Buren aims for a situation in which his works can be recognized as works of art in every context.

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