For my first post I’m supposed to talk about an artist I’ve been inspired by — one of the sample artists provided as reference for our first project, “My Line is Emo.” I’ve decided to go with Franz Kline.

Kline’s work fascinates me because his paintings are unlike any other paintings I’ve seen. He eschews form, light, and color to work with completely formless black and white shapes. And yet — devoid of nearly any context — the lines evoke a certain energy, depth, and sense of place.

Kline grew up in a coal mining town during the Great Depression. Perhaps the memory of coal inspired him to depict scenes and places as towering, gnarled, unrecognizable black shapes. The starkness of his work certainly has a depressive, industrial air about it.

Whatever the reason, Kline’s art is proof that even the simplest of visual elements — the line — can tug at the heartstrings and evoke emotions. It’s a lesson to keep in mind for our first Foundation 2D project.