Kandkinsky's COMPOSITION V

My faithful followers----I am back.  April was the ideal month for me to take a break.  Now, Nature anoints us with wildflowers, budding trees, lush green lawns that need mowing, and the magnolia out front our unit is in full bloom.  Life is renewed.

Now, let's get back to abstract art, starting where we left off with Wassily Kandinsky's Composition V...... 

Composition V ~ 1911

What on God's green earth can I see in this painting?

• First of all, there doesn't appear to be a foreground or background.
• To the far right, might that again represent a blue mountain? 
• The artist has placed human-like figures among the chaos.  How many do you see?  I see four.
• I see what looks like the frets of a guitar.  Considering his intense association with music, this may be what it is.  
• My eyes see at the bottom right a whale or fish jumping out of the water.
• In the upper left, my eyes see another fish-like form.
• The artist has painted black lines that dominate the painting.  The black lines might be his way of announcing his new abstract, non-objective style.  The black lines might be like a headline we would read in a newspaper. 
• The dominant black lines give the painting a sense of movement.....toward a new style of art.   

Kandinsky realized that he needed to develop this new style of painting slowly in order to gain public acceptance and comprehension.  That explains why in most of his works from this time period he included fragments of recognizable imagery like those I was able to discern. 

For years I've wondered about abstract art....what did it mean....what was its purpose?....who would want it?.....it made zero sense to me.  It was that curiosity that shoved me to learn what it's all about.  Already I can understand that if a painting of unrecognizable lines, forms and colors appeals to someone, then I can understand them wanting to have that painting in their home.  It's all about perpetuating a feeling or personal emotion.  So, in essence, my rubber band brain is expanding, little by little, to understand that which I did not. 

What emotions can art make us feel?  Well, the experience seems to be determined by whether we like or dislike a painting.  Pleasure vs. Displeasure.  Emotions can be felt in response to art, and those fit into three categories:  Knowledge Emotions (surprise, interest, or confusion that motivates learning and exploration)***Hostile Emotions (anger, resentment, hatred, jealousy)***Self-Conscious Emotions (shame, guilt, embarrassment, pride).  These three contributing categories create another tributary to this sea of personal artistic perception.

Bottom line:  Abstract is a language of emotion.  An art form that invites us to draw upon our own personal lifetime experiences.  It allows every individual to express themselves and connect with others on a deeper level....even across language barriers.  And, that is profoundly powerful.

It's good to be back.

The beautiful spring came;

and when nature resumes her loveliness,

the human soul is apt

to revive also.

~Harriet Ann Jacobs