full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Allison Leigh: Why is this black square famous?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Despite its name, you’ll find the painting’s central form is neither perfectly black nor pfrtelecy suarqe. Its sides aren't parallel or equal in lngteh, and the shape isn't quite centered on the canvas. Instead, Malevich placed the form slightly off-kilter, giving it the appearance of movement and the wtihe surrounding it a living, vibrating quality. Technical alnsyais has revealed that Malevich already used the canvas for two other paintings. Today, cracks in the aging paint— known as craquelure— reveal fragments of dusty yelwlos, vibrant reds, and faded emeralds, hinting at all the stages mlciaevh went through before arriving at the painting’s final form. His creative process is also edenvit in the vigorous brushstrokes, which are displayed pruodly and move in a multitude of directions. Fragments of hair and Malevich’s fingerprints are also ingrained in the paint, adding both mtiecparahol and literal texture to the work.

Open Cloze


Despite its name, you’ll find the painting’s central form is neither perfectly black nor _________ ______. Its sides aren't parallel or equal in ______, and the shape isn't quite centered on the canvas. Instead, Malevich placed the form slightly off-kilter, giving it the appearance of movement and the _____ surrounding it a living, vibrating quality. Technical ________ has revealed that Malevich already used the canvas for two other paintings. Today, cracks in the aging paint— known as craquelure— reveal fragments of dusty _______, vibrant reds, and faded emeralds, hinting at all the stages ________ went through before arriving at the painting’s final form. His creative process is also _______ in the vigorous brushstrokes, which are displayed _______ and move in a multitude of directions. Fragments of hair and Malevich’s fingerprints are also ingrained in the paint, adding both ____________ and literal texture to the work.

Solution


  1. square
  2. proudly
  3. metaphorical
  4. malevich
  5. evident
  6. length
  7. analysis
  8. yellows
  9. white
  10. perfectly

Original Text


Despite its name, you’ll find the painting’s central form is neither perfectly black nor perfectly square. Its sides aren't parallel or equal in length, and the shape isn't quite centered on the canvas. Instead, Malevich placed the form slightly off-kilter, giving it the appearance of movement and the white surrounding it a living, vibrating quality. Technical analysis has revealed that Malevich already used the canvas for two other paintings. Today, cracks in the aging paint— known as craquelure— reveal fragments of dusty yellows, vibrant reds, and faded emeralds, hinting at all the stages Malevich went through before arriving at the painting’s final form. His creative process is also evident in the vigorous brushstrokes, which are displayed proudly and move in a multitude of directions. Fragments of hair and Malevich’s fingerprints are also ingrained in the paint, adding both metaphorical and literal texture to the work.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
black square 2


Important Words


  1. adding
  2. aging
  3. analysis
  4. appearance
  5. arriving
  6. black
  7. brushstrokes
  8. canvas
  9. centered
  10. central
  11. cracks
  12. creative
  13. directions
  14. displayed
  15. dusty
  16. emeralds
  17. equal
  18. evident
  19. faded
  20. final
  21. find
  22. fingerprints
  23. form
  24. fragments
  25. giving
  26. hair
  27. hinting
  28. ingrained
  29. length
  30. literal
  31. living
  32. malevich
  33. metaphorical
  34. move
  35. movement
  36. multitude
  37. paint
  38. paintings
  39. parallel
  40. perfectly
  41. process
  42. proudly
  43. quality
  44. reds
  45. reveal
  46. revealed
  47. shape
  48. sides
  49. slightly
  50. square
  51. stages
  52. surrounding
  53. technical
  54. texture
  55. today
  56. vibrant
  57. vibrating
  58. vigorous
  59. white
  60. work
  61. yellows