I recently saw this building near London Bridge:
With regards to architecture, I wonder whether we should thank Mondrian for this kind of building exterior and design.
Our evolution in the design of buildings is probably driven by an appreciation for the harmony of purpose, utility and form.
Art as a conversation through objects.
This post concerns the last room of the Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian exhibition at the Tate Modern; the finale.
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The last room concerns Af Klint's most ambitious artworks. Probably her magnum opus: the colossal 'The Ten Largest'. She died in a traffic accident in Sweden aged 81. Today she is recognized as a pioneer of Western abstract art. However, even as late as the 1970s, when her paintings were gifted to the Stockholm museum, they declined the donation. Not untypical of most avant-garde artists.
Each painting is enormous, a veritable giant. They seek to capture the essence of childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age.
It seems af Klint was trying to "give the world a glimpse of the stages of life" through her perceptions of the spirit realm. She was supposed to have conducted séances - as a medium - and communicated to the spirits. She was even supposed to have received messages from the ethereal realm to create this devotional artwork.
For me, I have little patience for this. I think she was either she was suffering from a mental illness or was taking part in occult quackery which, I think, has always been the plainest of lies and exploitation. But, perhaps I'm being too harsh. I know that Europe was awash with this sort of nonsense. France had Allan Kardec who convinced people he could commune with the dead through tables! And, we still have astrology in magazines and fortune-tellers (in this day-and-age!).
Nevertheless, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these paintings.
I think there is something fascinating and even moving in them. I loved the way the colour shifts from blue to orange to lilac and then the faintest of pinks. Even as we go through the adult years, the colour itself fades. It speaks to the power of colour to evoke our emotions. Then, there is the movement, the flowing, the floating, the motion of each painting. They are filled with collisions and movements and swirls. Cells, atoms, flora, shells all seem to point to the harmony and interconnection of life. The latter paintings are the most moving. To me, I think there is a sense of calm and order and even wistfulness about them.
This artwork is really wonderful and quite moving.
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Childhood
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I recently went to the "Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms Of Life" exhibition at the Tate Modern. I found it a really interesting journey into abstraction, and provided insights into Mondrian's work in particular.
For me, I think Mondrian's abstractions are more interesting. I find af Klint's mysticism and spiritualism act as a barrier for me to really engage with her work. I think she's a fascinating lady, and I think she must have shocked and touched people with her esoteric radicalism.
It seems neither af Klint nor Mondrian knew one another (or their work), but this exhibition does suggest that share a common thread in their development of abstract art, moving away from the convention of representation.
During their lifetimes, they experienced the breaking of so many new technological frontiers. All of which challenged human perception - e.g. microscopy, radiography, photography etc. The existence of invisible worlds to the human eye (in science) also touches on af Klint's spirituality. For me, this exhibition delves perhaps too much into their spiritual beliefs - but it does form their approaches to perceiving the world. Indeed, their abstraction is a means of understanding the world.
This analysis/review is in 6 parts (with separate post for Klint's finale in the exhibition).
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Hilma af Klint (born 1862) and Piet Mondrian (born 1872) started off their careers as traditional classical landscape painters in the late 19th century.
Lake scene by af Klint
Quite a pretty painting by af Klint.
A sunset scene. Some heavy daubs on the skyline for clouds and the setting sunshine. The painting does have shiny veneer - perhaps the atmospheric sunset?.
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Spring Landscape from Lomma Bay by Klint
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Evening Landscape with Cows by Mondrian
One of the problems with this painting, for me, is the fact that you can feel the texture of the canvass through the painting. Otherwise, it is also a charming arcadian vista with a few cows.
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Haystack Behind a Row of Willows by Mondrian
Quite a pretty painting.
I do love this type of heavy brushwork, scrapping through the impasto. Feels expressionistic, and can be quite evocative of a summery, windy feel - even natural.
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Further to my post Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian: pioneers of abstract art – Tate Modern, these illustrations were part of af Klint’s botanical collection.
I think they’re the best ones.
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