WHITNEY

FRANK
STELLA
ACTIVITY
GUIDE

WELCOME

Frank Stella has been interested in making things

since he was a kid. For almost six decades, Stella
has explored the materials and processes of painting.
From his earliest paintings, done when he was in
his twenties, to his recent large-scale work, Stella
has continually reinvented and pushed the limits
of abstraction. He asks us to think about what an
abstract painting can be. Can it tell a story or sound
like music, or is it just lines, shapes, and colors?
Or perhaps an abstract painting is just the materials
it is made of, as Stella simply said, What you see
is what you see.
This Whitney Kids activity guide is designed to
introduce you to Stellas art and some of the ways
that he thinks and works. We hope it will inspire
the artist in you too! Use this guide to explore the
exhibition and experiment with your own ideas.
While youre here, dont miss the outdoor sculpture
on view on Floor 5!

STRIPES
AND SHAPES

East Broadway, 1958

After he graduated from college and moved to New
Yorks Lower East Side in 1958, Stella made a series
of paintings with simple rectangular shapes and
stripes. He used house paint from the bargain bin and
house painters brushes to apply it to the canvas.
Stella said that he was learning how to make abstract
paintings . . . learning what paint and canvas can do.
Some of these workssuch as East Broadwayare
titled after places in New York City. In this painting,
the field of stripes is interrupted by a solid rectangle.
The stripes are uneven because Stella painted
them freehand.

Look closely at this painting. Where is your eye

first drawn to? Could that rectangle be a doorway?
Draw what you think might be on the other side
of the door.

CARTWHEELING
V SHAPES

Design your own shaped drawing inspired by letters

of the alphabet. You could use your own initials!
Take each letter and turn it into simple shapes.
For example, you could use a triangle for the
letter A. For the letter B, you could combine
a rectangle and two circles like this:
Repeat your letter shapes, join them together, stack
them, rotate them, or overlap them.

Empress of India, 1965

Stella experimented with different types of metallic
paint to explore how they reflected light and made
his paintings seem to almost hover in front of the wall.
In these paintings, long lines make a sudden sharp
turnsort of like the design for an electric circuit, as
the artist has described it. This work is from a series
called the Notched Vs (196465). Stella began with a
drawing of the geometric composition; then he
constructed the canvas to fit the V shapes that
cartwheel across it.

A WHALE OF
A TALE

The Whiteness of the Whale (IRS-1, 2X), 1987

Between 1986 and 1997, Stella made hundreds of
works inspired by Herman Melvilles book Moby-Dick
(1851), an epic tale about a ship captains hunt for
a huge white whale. This painting is titled after Chapter
42, in which Ishmael, the person who is telling the
story, wonders about the color white and why the
whiteness of the whale might be scary. Rather than
depicting his subject in a realistic way, Stella used
abstract shapes and color to convey a sense of the
whales strength and power.

Find shapes in this gallery that remind you of the

ocean and underwater life. Use the shapes as
inspiration to draw your own oceanic or underwater
composition. How will your shapes connect, overlap,
and fill the page?

OPTICAL
ILLUSION

Jaspers Dilemma, 1962

Stella used primary and secondary colors and shades
of gray to create this composition. He left a thin line
of raw canvas between each band of color so that you
can see the squares and triangles that the bands
make. Notice how the squares are divided into four
triangles whose points dont quite line up in the center.
The composition of stripes and the way that Stella
combined the colors also form spirals that radiate from
the center of each square. Follow the spirals with your
eyes. Do they seem to move inward or outward?

Create a composition with shades of gray. Press hard

with your pencil to create dark gray shades. Press
softly to make lighter shades. Leave some areas white.
Design your composition in a way that is different
from Stellas. How does that change the way that you
see the shapes?

A BATTLE
OF SHAPES

Gobba, zoppa e collotorto, 1985

Whoa, these large, colorful shapes seem to be flying
right out of the wall! They create what Stella has
called a battle of forms fighting for position. This work
is from a series called Cones and Pillars (198487).
Can you spot those shapes here? The tongue twister
titleGobba, zoppa e collotortois from an Italian
folktale. The shapes interact and connect with one
another to suggest the action of the story. What do
you think this story is all about?

Tell a story with two or three simple shapes, such as

a circle, triangle, or square. Decide which shapes will
represent the beginning, middle, and end of your story.
Combine your shapes. Make them twist, turn, tumble,
and connect to give a sense of your story. Add the title
of your story below.

Title:

CURVES AND
SEMICIRCLES

Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation III), 1970

In his Protractor Paintings (196771), Stella introduced
curved shapes in bright and fluorescent colors. This
is the largest painting in the series. The shapes are
based on the semicircular protractor used for
measuring and drawing angles. Perhaps youve used
one in math class? Look closely at Damascus Gate
(Stretch Variation III). Which shapes and colors seem
to pop out at you? Which shapes and colors seem to
retreat into the background?

Connect the dots on this page with different types

of lines. Use curved lines and straight lines. Look at
the painting for inspiration. Add lines that overlap and
intersect with each other.

INDIAN BIRD

Imagine that you are a bird who has escaped your cage
and flown into the sky. How would you fly? Would you
flitter, soar, or swoop up and down? What shapes might
you see below you from your birds-eye view? Winding
rivers? Clumps of trees? A pattern of fields? A grid of
city streets?
Create a composition by drawing the shapes and
patterns that come to your mind.

Khar-pidda 5.5x, 1978

The curves, curlicues, glitter, and gold in this artwork
were inspired by Stellas visit to India in 1977. It is
part of a series called Indian Birds (197779); its title,
Khar-pidda, refers to the name of a bird from that
country. The large, colorful shapes at the front of the
work are made of honeycomb aluminum, which is
used in aircraft. Stella has said that these works remind
him of birds in cages, but perhaps this colorful bird is
about to escape its cage and fly off!

WAVES
OF METAL

Look out the window at the Hudson River and use

your pencil to lightly sketch the movement of the water.
Keep your eyes on the water, and move your hand in
the same way that the waves move. Try not to look at
the page!
What shapes and lines did you create? Look for more
shapes outside or in the sculpture. Add them to your
water sketch.

Raft of the Medusa (Part I), 1990

This large relief sculpture is titled after a painting
called The Raft of the Medusa (181819) by French artist
Thodore Gricault (17911824). In 1816, a ship named
the Mduse was wrecked off the coast of Senegal in
Africa. Some people had to escape from the ship on a
raft because there were not enough lifeboats to rescue
everyone on board. They were left to battle for almost
two weeks against the wind and the waves. For this
artwork, Stella used crushed aluminum and twisted
steel, which call to mind the raft and the people tossed
around on the frothing ocean.

MUSIC AND
MOVEMENT

Ask each person youre with to choose a line or shape

in this artwork and imagine what kind of sound it
might make: quiet, loud, long, or short. Have everyone
practice their sound, and then create a sound piece
by conducting your band. Invent your own hand
movements to let your band know when to make
their sounds.

What does a dark color

sound like, compared with
a bright color?

K.81 combo (K.37 and K.43) large size, 2009

Stellas recent Scarlatti Sonata Kirkpatrick wall relief
sculptures were inspired by the music of Italian
composer Domenico Scarlatti (16851757). The artist
has said that for me, music was always magical.
Notice how the abstract shapes, lines, and colors in this
artwork swoop, bend, and curve to create an energetic
visual rhythm. Each line or shape might represent a
particular sound.

What does a curved shape

sound like, compared with
a straight line?

TO DO AT HOME
Here are some ideas for art projects that you can
do at home:
Create a collage with strips and stripes
What youll need:
Colored paper cut into long strips,
a sheet of paper, a glue stick
1. Arrange colored paper strips on the sheet of paper.
2. Use three warm colors and three cool colors
side by side.
3. Experiment with folding the paper strips so that
the stripes go in different directions.
4. When you are happy with your composition,
glue your strips and stripes to the sheet of paper.
Make a sculpture out of paper shapes
What youll need:
Clear tape or a stapler, a piece of cardboard,
colored paper, scissors
Cut shapes out of the colored paper. Try cutting
long strips and semicircles.
2. Cut out rectangles and triangles to make cylinder
and cone shapes.
3. Bend and fold your shapes.
4. Use tape or a stapler to attach the edges of the
shapes to the piece of cardboard so that they stick
out from the surface.
1.

KEEP DRAWING!

CREDITS

All artworks are by Frank Stella.

East Broadway, 1958. Oil on canvas, 85 1/4 x 81 in.
(216.5 x 205.7 cm). Addison Gallery of American
Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts;
gift of the artist (PA 1954) 1980.14
Empress of India, 1965. Metallic powder in
polymer emulsion paint on canvas, 77 x 224 in.
(195.6 x 569 cm). The Museum of Modern
Art, New York; gift of S. I. Newhouse, Jr. 474.1978.
Digital image The Museum of Modern Art/
Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY
The Whiteness of the Whale (IRS-1, 2X), 1987.
Paint on aluminum, 149 x 121 3/4 x 45 1/4 in. (375.5 x
309.2 x 114.9 cm). Private collection
Jaspers Dilemma, 1962. Alkyd on canvas, 77 x
154 in. (195.6 x 391.2 cm). Collection of Irma
and Norman Braman, Miami Beach
Gobba, zoppa e collotorto, 1985. Oil, urethane
enamel, fluorescent alkyd, acrylic, and printing
ink on etched magnesium and aluminum, 137 x
120 1/8 x 34 3/8 in. (348 x 305 x 87.5 cm). The
Art Institute of Chicago; Mr. and Mrs. Frank G.
Logan Purchase Prize Fund; Ada Turnbull
Hertle Endowment 1986.93

Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation III), 1970. Alkyd

on canvas, 120 x 600 in. (304.8 x 1,524 cm). The
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; museum purchase
funded by Alice Pratt Brown
Khar-pidda 5.5x, 1978. Mixed media on aluminum,
metal tubing, and wire mesh, 122 x 88 x 35 in.
(309.9 x 223.5 x 88.9 cm). The Glass House, A
Site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Raft of the Medusa (Part I), 1990. Aluminum and
steel, 167 x 163 x 159 in. (424.2 x 414 x 403.9 cm).
The Glass House, A Site of the National Trust
for Historic Preservation
K.81 Combo (K.37 and K.43) large size, 2009.
Protogen RPT with stainless steel tubing, 180 x
192 x 120 in. (457.2 x 487.7 x 304.8 cm).
Private collection
All artworks 2015 Frank Stella/Artists Rights
Society (ARS), New York

JOIN US
We have a full lineup of tours, art-making
workshops, and artist-led programs for
families. For more information, please visit
whitney.org/Families.

Education programs in the Laurie M. Tisch

Education Center are supported by the Steven
& Alexandra Cohen Foundation; The Pierre
& Tana Matisse Foundation; Jack and Susan
Rudin in honor of Beth Rudin DeWoody; Barker
Welfare Foundation; Con Edison; public funds
from the New York City Department of Cultural
Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and by
members of the Whitneys Education Committee.
Generous endowment support for education
programs is provided by the William Randolph
Hearst Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation,
Laurie M. Tisch, Steve Tisch, Krystyna O. Doerfler,
Lise and Michael Evans, and Burton P. and Judith
B. Resnick.
Free Guided Student Visits for New York
City Public and Charter Schools endowed by
the Allen and Kelli Questrom Foundation.
The Whitneys Education Department is the
recipient of a National Leadership Grant from
the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Significant support is provided by

Major support is provided by The Brown

Foundation, Inc.; Steven & Alexandra Cohen
Foundation; Julia W. Dayton; Pamella and
Daniel DeVos; Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer;
the Fisher Family; The Marc Haas Foundation,
Inc.; the Henry Luce Foundation; Robert E.
Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker; the National
Committee of the Whitney Museum of
American Art; and an anonymous donor.
Generous support is provided by The Broad Art
Foundation, Peter and Betsy Currie, Theodor and
Isabella Dalenson, Marcia Dunn and Jonathan
Sobel, Louis G. Elson, Ann and Graham Gund,
Marguerite Steed Hoffman, Barbara and Tom
Israel, Martin Z. Margulies, Scott Mead, Kenneth &
Marabeth Tyler, Melissa Vail and Norman Selby,
the Bagley and Virginia Wright Foundation, and
public funds from the New York City Department
of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City
Council.
Additional support is provided by Irma and
Norman Braman; Audrey and David Mirvish;
the National Endowment for the Arts; and
Paul J. Schupf Lifetime Trust, Gregory O.
Koerner Trustee.

Frank Stella: A Retrospective, is jointly organized

by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New
York, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
In New York, the exhibition is sponsored by

Significant endowment support is also provided

by Lise and Michael Evans, Sueyun and Gene
Locks, and the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.

Whitney Museum
of American Art
99 Gansevoort Street
New York, NY 10014
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