Kandinsky Exhibit

"Yellow, Red and Blue"

I recently visited the Kandinsky exhibit at the Guggenheim. I think his work is so inspiring because of the way he uses color. He believed that "Art can transform the viewer" and that "colors can touch the soul." When you see his work, there is a feeling of a resonance through the colors he uses and how he uses them that effects the viewer spiritually and emotionally. His art is so experiential. In his earlier years, his use of primary colors in relationship to each other is incredibly evocative. In his later life, he played more with the images of lines, shapes and edges on a neutral background. The other thing I loved about his work was his interest in music, and his constant quest to combine music with art in his paintings. He even used musical terms to title many of his works, such as "Improvisations" or "Compositions".


"The sun melts all of Moscow down to a single spot that, like a mad tuba, starts all of the heart and all of the soul vibrating. But no, this uniformity of red is not the most beautiful hour. It is only the final chord of a symphony that takes every color to the zenith of life that, like the fortissimo of a great orchestra, is both compelled and allowed by Moscow to ring out." -Wassily Kandinsky


His paintings seem like performances in this way, and each one evokes a different feeling or song. Kandinsky also wrote a lot about the spiritual life as an artist, and believed that the spiritual life of humanity is like a triangle or pyramid, and the artist's mission is to lead people to the top through their talent. He believed that art comes from the spirit within, and that art alone can divine the "internal truth". I could probably write about his work and his philosophy for hours, because his understanding of making and viewing art was all about expressing the soul, and healing through art to reach a more spiritual mindset. You can check out his text, "Concerning the Spriritual In Art" here: http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20of%20art/kandinskytext.htm

I can't remember the name of this one, but it was in a series that he depicts a red heart in (top left corner). All of the (illegal) photos are courtesy of my brave friend, Rachel Calloway!

"That is beautiful which is produced by the inner need, which springs from the soul" -Wassily Kandinsky

Express your inner truth,

liz xo