What do you see ?

As you look at "Broome street at night" by Helen Frankenthaler, an etching, aquatint, and drypoint on dry margin paper, you see a few smears of green grass-like color stretching horizontally from one edge of the canvas and dissipating on the right edge. Within the darkened green glass-like smudge, a streak of saturated string-like yellowish neon color starts on the left and ends in the middle. The element of this piece that directs your attention to the vibrant colors is the dark brown band which stretches horizontally from the left side of the etching and expands unevenly on its vertical plane as it reaches the edge on the left. Looking at the horizontal plane of the dark shade of brown, you can see a few light splotches and wavy, uneven straight lines. That starts at the bottom left Corner right under the foreground of the green smear and stretches horizontally but becomes more compacted at the end of the trail. At the top of the middle section of the etching, the daps and splotches of paint become prominent: their formation embodies a wind-like motion as they approach the middle of the canvas to become ​elevated horizontally to the right edge. Connecting the whole piece is the background with a light shade of brown that creates Havana. Although the Havana color takes up most of the etching, accents of brown colors such as Cowboy, Livid brown, and coffee bean are highlighted evenly across the canvas, setting the dark, ominous tone, which adds to the pull factor the vibrant colors highlighted in the etching. For this reason, we notice a blue-like stroke that forms the shape of a circle or the number six between the background and foreground of the dark brown, which causes it to vary hues and transparency as it goes through the imperfectly perfect loop.

Changes over time?​ 

A deep dive

The Upside Down
After a while spent dissecting this image, we begin to see the intricacy of this simplistic art piece. As time passes, we notice the different shades and hues of color that make the art pieces seemingly abstract. For example, in section 1 annotations, partnered with the dissonant strokes are hues and different shades of green that spread across the lower portion of the canvas. Starting on the right is a light shade of Fiji green accented with a bit of turtle green that creates transparency against the wood bark background. There are light and dark shades of Verdun green toward the end of the canvas in the middle section. In addition, for a change in perspective, when the canvas rotates at 180 degrees, it doesn't assimilate another image or pattern; it simply looks upside down because of the time spent viewing the etching. Also, the alignment and layering accompanied with the horizontally drawn details cause it to look awkward.
Nonetheless, pulling every aspect of this abstract piece as a whole, it resembles the view of grassland alongside a hill. Due to the harmoniously discontinued strokes, smears, and blotches on the canvas, you see many activities which mirror the image of wind-like motions or a beginning storm. In all, It does embody the attributes and aesthetic of nightly activities.​
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no formula[,]...there are no rules. Let the pictures lead you where it must go."

How her life paint’s such an image?

Delineating her life with vibrance, overwhelming artistic compositions, and amiable exploration, Frankenthaler's impact on abstract expression gives strength to the meaning of "no formula[,]...there are no rules. Let the pictures lead you where it must go.": a quote she said in 2003 in an interview in the New York Times. This statement employs us not to be limited by the binding principle of imagery but to explore the vitality and the liberating expression of personality art to our experiences. Accordingly, the creative freedom partnered with the journey of making art adds to the alluring nature of "Broome Street at night." Though the art's title depicts an uneventful scene, the bright and ominous colors complemented with the variety in various hues and unintentional details propose the aesthetic contracts of a menacing foreboding tone. This tension between the conceptual art piece and its visionary title emphasizes how an individual's perception is relevant to their understanding. Consequently, Frankenthaler's experience with abstraction infers that "Broome Street at night." paints the emotions felt in the setting. The contrast between light and dark tones emphasizes the nostalgia of the whole piece.
Photograph of Frankenthaler's Helen by Ward, Cora Kelley, 1920-1989
Work Cited
Exhibit-E.com. “Biography - Helen Frankenthaler.” Helen Frankenthaler Foundation,   https://www.frankenthalerfoundation.org/helen/biography. Accessed 20 February 2022

Glueck, Grace. “Helen Frankenthaler, Abstract Painter Who Shaped a Movement, Dies at 83.” The New York Times, The  New York Times, 27   Dec. 2011,   https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/arts/helen-frankenthaler-abstract-painter-dies-at-83.html. 

“Helen Frankenthaler: Broome Street at Night (1987): Available for Sale.” Artsy,   https://www.artsy.net/artwork/helen-frankenthaler-broome-street-at-   night-1.Accessed 20 February 2022
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Ward, Cora Kelley. “Helen Frankenthaler.” Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian, https://www.si.edu/object/helen-   frankenthaler%3AAAADCD_item_847. Accessed 20 February 2022