I generally grumble about the integration of American culture into British culture, I like to think I can do without the global everything default. But there are some really truly great things about America which just haven't caught on in Europe. One of these things is coloured masking tape (painters tape). Red for high-tac, blue for medium-tac, and green for low-tac. It's practical, beautiful, and great for colour coding objects and tools as well as decorating, wrapping art works and planning a geometric painting.
My second day in San Francisco saw me purchase 4 roles of tape to bring home with me from the Cole Fox Hardware store (see last post). My last day was spent soaking up artwork at SFMOMA. And there I saw a 'work in progress' painting by Mondrian employing the use of primary coloured tape to design his painting. In my basic A-level Arthistory we learned about Broadway Boogie Woogie, the impact of Jazz and the American city grid structure on his painting - but no-one mentioned coloured masking tape as an essential tool in planning and influencing Mondrian's colour... did they?
Please correct me if you have an expert knowledge of Mondrian and can provide an arthistorical link to the impact of coloured masking tape on his practice.
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