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APPRECIATING NOLAND

CIRCLES

SOMETIMES CALLED "TARGETS" the centered images (1956-62) consist mainly of concentric circles in different colors placed at the center of a square canvas, although some have different centered motifs. The first circles were painted freely, but this practice was replaced by mechanical geometric drawing (at first surrounded by a loosely painted outer penumbra) which gave a characteristic target or roundel motif.

If the circle motif was originally chosen for its associations or symbolism that was soon abandoned. By the early '60s Noland preferred the motif because it provided a convenient framework for relations of color unencumbered by convention. These relations were reinforced by the expanding and contracting rhythm inherent in the format. The sense of immobilized pulsation was an integral part of the expression in these pictures.

These were the first paintings of Noland's which depended for their success upon relations of clear colors stained into unsized cotton duck. Noland's color vocabulary was limited at this point, often relying on primaries and and unmixed pigments - a variant of simple fauve color. It grew steadily from this point.