Verbal Description Transcript:

Little Yellow Panel dates from around 1936. It’s made of sheet metal, wood, rod, wire, string, and paint. The sculpture measures about 3 feet 5 inches high by 1 foot wide by 1 foot 2 inches deep. This abstract wall sculpture comprises a square panel with mobile elements hanging in front of it. The panel is made of wood that has been painted a deep chrome yellow. Rather than being attached to the wall, the panel is hanging on the end of a single metal rod. Dangling in front of the panel are three abstract elements, suspended on delicate strings from two horizontal bars. The bars are positioned one above the other. At one end of the higher bar is a string from which hangs the largest and heaviest of the abstract pieces: this consists of two flat metal pieces with wavy outlines slotted together at right angles. They are red on one side and metallic gray on the other: as the piece twists on its string, the color changes in front of its yellow background. From the other end of the upper bar is a string from which the second bar hangs. This second bar in turn has a string at either end, each with a small, deep-red flat piece at the end – one a circle and the other an irregular oval shape. Again, these twist and swivel on their strings according to the changing air currents. When viewed from the side, they become almost invisible. As the hanging rods and wires swing and tilt, the three colored forms can appear in different places in front of the yellow background – or even just off the edge. Their position will also appear different according to where the viewer is standing. The hanging elements of the sculpture create shadows on the panel, adding further abstract forms to the composition.