Noa Noa - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Marjorie Kreilick McNab

"Noa Noa" by Paul Gauguin (n.d.) Collotype with letterpress, in black on cream wove papers, folded, with collotype in black with red on ivory laid paper and envelope, contained within cream wove paper wrapper with collotype in black.

Commentary

"Noa Noa" by Paul Gauguin (n.d.) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Themes to notice include print. This p iece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Paul Gauguin is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as print, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Collotype with letterpress, in black on cream wove papers, folded, with collotype in black with red on ivory laid paper and envelope, contained within cream wove paper wrapper with collotype in black) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Closed: 41.3 × 28.3 × 0.6 cm (16 5/16 × 11 3/16 × 1/4 in.); Open: 41.3 × 57 cm (16 5/16 × 22 1/2 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include print. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/229686

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data