I worked on a 1000 piece puzzle of Kandinsky's Im Blue over Christmas and found it difficult to finish. When I bought it, I thought the colors and shapes would make it a relatively easy and fun puzzle to do as I tend to go for color first, then object, then piece shape. Putting it together however, was slow going and I ended up with a hundred plus of similar blues once the rest of the colors were in place. After one of the SonMs responded to my troubled sighs and grumbling by suggesting I resort to the more ordered and systematic approach of sorting what remained into groups and lines of like-shaped pieces, I eventually managed to get it finished but it was tedious trial and error from that point on. Plus six corner pieces had been provided, with the non-interlocking flat sides of two of them butting up against each other in the middle of one of the edges. Though not a satisfying puzzle to work, the picture intrigued me. And continues to do so.
Painted 95 years ago, Im Blue presents a visual that invites the viewer to project their own ideas onto it. When I looked at it again today following SixtyG’s recent mention of influence, what I saw brought a moment of relief, awareness and levity, along with more understanding after reading more about it. This time around, the big red circular shape resembling a pie chart and the gobbling Pac-Man, reminded me of the magnified pictures I’d seen of the virulent Covid-19 virus. And from there, my imagination took off, seeing a black triangle of death and fear stabbing through the confusion present, disrupting balance while a small lighthouse of information blinks among the signal flags erected, and the sharp pointed curves of the political scythes swing in the air and threaten stability. And there I am, on an island or life raft in the lower left corner, receiving data through a grid of awareness and misunderstanding while holding a flag with a red and a white triangle depicting my piece of the pie (how I will react and respond to this threat) with the hope of survival hovering above the whole mess as a healthy pair of lungs surrounded by light! (Or maybe it’s an infected pair of lungs? Who knows?)
After thinking on that, I found this, with a "she" identified as the viewer, and the word “force” showing up in strength:
“A pioneer of abstract modern art, Wassily Kandinsky explored the relationship between color and form to create an aesthetic experience that engages the viewer through sight, sound, and emotions. His philosophy centered around the idea that abstraction offered the possibility for transcendental expression, which was hindered when art copied directly from nature. The deep, royal blue background of this piece destabilizes the viewer and transports her into an alternate world constructed by overlapping geometric shapes. These strong colors make the viewer feel alive, alert, and bewildered; as a result, she becomes hyper focused on the scene...After initially seeming confusing and ambiguous, the objects slowly start to gain some semblance of logic as the viewer’s mind starts its own interpretation...
Kandinsky forces the viewer to confront mysterious imagery and the unknown in order to navigate within a strange world... Throughout the painting, various elements draw attention in competing directions, making it hard for the mind to focus on one particular object long enough to make sense of it. Eventually, we are forced to surrender to the confusion and accept that as part of the experience of the piece.
And that foray ended with: What do you think of this piece?
4 comments:
Proof once again that modern art isn't.
SonMs, we take it, are your offspring. Always annoying when the younger generation is right.
Yes to both,edutcher.on the offspring and the right part, with annoyance and marvel running neck. Doing it that way was the only approach that worked but it was boring as heck. One of the delights of offspring is seeing and hearing them come up with ideas,thoughts and solutions that invite me out of my comfort zone. Then again they weren't familiar with Kandinsky so there was a trade-off!
Running neck and neck. Learning to use voice with my phone.
Excellent serendipitous post, MamaM. I always appreciate the words you bring to any piece of art. After seeing that Kandinsky, which I had never seen before, I copied the picture and sent it to the kazoo maker. He and his wife live down on the coast so any art education I provide for them is done remotely, mainly directing their searches, and this one has not popped up in any WK searches so far.
He saw that picture and said "I see a lighthouse, and in the lower left, a boat, with flags" and he went on to describe many of the same objects you did.
Fascinating. I saw blue and yellow shapes. Yep, just as with speech these days, I live in a different world.
But I am still a fan of Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, Miro and many other artist who worked a century ago. Good stuff.
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