Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel back in time and look over the shoulder of one of the great artists of the early 20th century at work? This short film from 1926 features the Russian painter. wassily kandinsky He transforms blank canvases into unique abstract works.
The film was made by Hans Tullis, a pioneer in art documentary production, at the Neumann-Nierendorf Museum in Berlin. Kandinsky was teaching at the time. bauhaus. It was the same year that he published his second major paper. From points and lines to surfaces. The contrasting lines and curves that Kandinsky depicted in his films are typical of this period, when his approach became less intuitive and more consciously geometric.
Kandinsky believed that artists could reach deeper truths by omitting depictions of external objects and looking inward, and despite his analytical turn at the Bauhaus, he continued to speak of art in deeply mystical terms. in From points and lines to surfaces, Kandinsky wrote:
A work of art reflects itself on the surface of our consciousness. But the image extends beyond that and disappears from the surface without a trace when the senses subside. Here, too, there appears to be a transparent yet distinct glass-like barrier that excludes direct contact from within. Here, too, there is the possibility to enter into the message of art, to actively participate, to experience its pulsating life with all five senses.
Note: An earlier version of this post appeared on the site in 2012.
Related content:
Helen Mirren on why Wassily Kandinsky is her favorite artist (and what acting and modern art have in common)
Watch footage of Claude Monet painting in the famous gardens of Giverny (1915)
The evolution of Kandinsky’s paintings: a 46-year journey from realism to vivid abstraction
Wassily Kandinsky synchronizes his abstract art with Mussorgsky’s music in a production of the historic Bauhaus theater (1928)
Vintage Film: Watch Henri Matisse sketch and create his famous cutouts (1946)
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
