Why did Frank Stella make Harran II?

Frank Stella made Harran II because of his interest in moving his work away from representation toward minimalist abstractions. He believed paintings on canvas were objects in their own right, like sculptures, rather than symbols for something else. Harran II was a part of Stella's Protractor series, characterized by colorful circles and arcs. Named after the ancient cities whose circular plans Stella had noticed while traveling in the Middle East during the 1960s, these works usually comprise several canvases set flush against one another so that the geometric figures in each section come together in a larger, more complex whole. In the case of Harran II, the name is a nod to a city in Turkey where Stella was inspired by intricate, colorful tile mosaics. Find a variety of Frank Stella art on 1stDibs.