Jesús Rafael Soto—Tes violets et haut noir

Jesús Rafael Soto’s Tes violets et haut noir, on display at El Museo del Barrio, was completed in 1974 in Venezuela. It is a painted wood construction with metal elements. It is a medium rectangular piece at eye level. It’s impossible not to notice Tes violets et haut noirs because it is the “drunk art.” Looking at it might give you a headache! This piece uses black and white in a very thin striped pattern in the background, with thin purple rods in the shape of a sideways “T” sticking out. The contrast of the purple rods with the background makes the piece look bizarre and hypnotizing. Looking at the piece from the frontal view makes it look like the purple color is a part of the black and white pattern. But, when you look at it from the side, you see that the purple color is actually rods sticking out of the piece.

Tes violets et haut noir first caught my attention because it was constantly moving. Taking one small step would change the perspective of the entire piece. I found myself drifting side-to-side for almost 2 minutes, just staring straight into the hypnotizing pattern of black, white, and purple. Tes violets et haut noir seemed like an object taken straight out of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I personally like bizarre movies such as Disney’s Alice in Wonderland or Coraline because something about weird or peculiar movements, sights, or even sounds draws me in. Observing Tes violets et haut noir was like temporarily dwelling in a dream-like fantasy world, a world that completely contradicted reality. I believe that Jesús Rafael Soto created Tes violets et haut noir to intrigue the viewer by presenting an odd object that probably wouldn’t resemble the art usually found in museums. I think that Soto allowed his imagination to take over and ultimately crafted an extraordinary and unique work of art that is meant to captivate the viewer.