Le Moulin de la Galette, 1900
Pablo Picasso
Guggenheim Museum
New York City
Three flirtatious smiling seated ladies dominate the left front portion of the scene and they are subltly contrasted with three top-hatted single standing gentlemen at the top left. The connection between the two trios (they are seemingly poised to potentially hit on eachother) is strongly suggested and offset by the dancing couples who seem to be moving counter-clockwise in a merry go round motion.
There is a slight suggestion that Picasso may be influenced by the nascent photographic portraiture as some of his 'subjects' appear to be staring at the 'aperture' of the painter's imaginary camera. And off to the front is some kind of dandy with a sharply sculptured chin taking our line of sight off scene to some event that intrigues me. So, Picasso has represented many scenes each of which could be the subject of its own painting. All done in a very representational mode. He is very focussed on the pedestrian life around him with its infinite energies.
Woman with Yellow Hair, 1931
Pablo Picasso
Guggenheim Museum
New York City
Picasso's Woman with Yellow Hair painted 31 years later depicts, in contrast, a more sedate, peaceful less representational scene. The focus is on the flowing, sensuous, upper torso of this sleeping lady. Detail is submerged into the predominant lilac, sweet-scented mood. Her features lack detail and her hair, only partially yellow, suggests a fish tail, repressed energy waiting to swish-swash with vibrant music upon her awaking.
Fast forward now to the featured artist, with nearly 100 paintings, improvisations, compositions, etc. Vasily Kindinsky. His art is at once bewildering, overwhelming, puzzling and full of chaotic energy. It is well known how Hilla von Rebay urged her patron Solomon Guggenheim to buy as many Kandinskys as she could locate and he happily obliged. There are simply too many of them in this exhibit for us to absorb as we walk up the 'swirling' staircase' which was supposedly designed to mimic the artist's own sense of disorientation). Each composition is so full of energy, so replete with clashing and contrasting colors, tones, hues, etc and so many different vignettes (or cels--read on). All of which creates dissonance, strident sounds, atonal disharmony and reflect Wagnerian operatic expressionism (we know that Lohengrin inspired the budding artist).
Fast forward now to the featured artist, with nearly 100 paintings, improvisations, compositions, etc. Vasily Kindinsky. His art is at once bewildering, overwhelming, puzzling and full of chaotic energy. It is well known how Hilla von Rebay urged her patron Solomon Guggenheim to buy as many Kandinskys as she could locate and he happily obliged. There are simply too many of them in this exhibit for us to absorb as we walk up the 'swirling' staircase' which was supposedly designed to mimic the artist's own sense of disorientation). Each composition is so full of energy, so replete with clashing and contrasting colors, tones, hues, etc and so many different vignettes (or cels--read on). All of which creates dissonance, strident sounds, atonal disharmony and reflect Wagnerian operatic expressionism (we know that Lohengrin inspired the budding artist).
Composition VII, displayed below is according to the artist the most complex painting he ever did. Unfortunately, it is not a part of the exhibit, though it best serves our purpose in showing the most number of cel-like structures in any one painting. It is the largest of all Kandinsky's paintings and part of 10 compositions painted between 1919-1939. It "reflects Kandinsky's quest to affirm the need for spiritual awakening in art, as in society, and places biblical references at its core. Its apocalyptic themes--the Deluge, Resurrection and Day of Judgment--are not expressed in a narrative but in a rising and plummeting Universe in which identifiable objects are almost totally subsumed by some greater force. (See Art, Over 2500 Works from Cave to Contemporary, DK Publishing, 2008, NYC, pages 436-439. Excellent 'dissection' of the work into discrete cels and enlightening commentary. Totally awesome!)
Composition VII, 1913
Vasily Kandinsky
The Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow
So, how can we properly assess Kandinsky next to the 'stars' of the calmer cubists, impressionists and expressionists in the museum's Thannheuser Collection?
Perhaps, the best way to start one's appreciation of Kandinsky is to watch Roberta Smiths NYT Slide Show; Kudos to her comments that he was not really interested in creating perfect paintings, he was not interested in establishing resolutions. Indeed, as I see it, his paintings are composed of a collage seemingly infinite and disconnected cels (yes, cels as in the predigital old way of creating animated cartoons ala Disney)--each cel is a work of art unto itself. And so each of his 99 represented works is in a state of transformation and each work has many many cels that are themselves incomplete, in that they are in constant motion and the whole painting is thus incomplete, imperfect-- since composed of so many disconnected cels or foci of activity.
Perhaps, the best way to start one's appreciation of Kandinsky is to watch Roberta Smiths NYT Slide Show; Kudos to her comments that he was not really interested in creating perfect paintings, he was not interested in establishing resolutions. Indeed, as I see it, his paintings are composed of a collage seemingly infinite and disconnected cels (yes, cels as in the predigital old way of creating animated cartoons ala Disney)--each cel is a work of art unto itself. And so each of his 99 represented works is in a state of transformation and each work has many many cels that are themselves incomplete, in that they are in constant motion and the whole painting is thus incomplete, imperfect-- since composed of so many disconnected cels or foci of activity.
Quantum physics is another avenue of exploring and understanding the genius at work here. The BohrAtom Theory postulated in 1913 the existence of atoms composed of electrons (the source of energy) in orbit circling around a central nucleus. We can visualize the constant motion of atoms that may have intrigued and inspired the youthful artist (who had a known scientific bent) with the incessant restless movement found in all his creations Then about 10 years later The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle challenged the wave theory of energy by saying in simple terms that we cannot predict the location of electrons at any moment in time. This constant flux of energy is, perhaps, the only underlying constant within Kandinsky's works. There is no finality, no perfection, just endless transformation of all kinds of energies: in sound, light, color, movement, etc. Microcosmic universes, depicted here, mimic cosmic universes which are constantly morphing into other shapes, multi-verses, parallel universes, etc. How totally modern!
Enough said! You must experience these polymathic artists...
It's definitely worth a trip to this exhibit which runs through January 13. 2010.
"Art Washes Away From The Soul The Dust of Everyday Life" Picasso
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