Art: Hilma af Klint
While in New York for Thanksgiving we went to the Guggenheim to see an exhibit of art by the pathbreaking Swedish painter Hilma af Klint.
Wikipedia has a good entry on her. It reads in part, “Hilma af Klint (October 26, 1862 – October 21, 1944) was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings were amongst the first abstract art. A considerable body of her abstract work predates the first purely abstract compositions by Kandinsky. She belonged to a group called ‘The Five,’ a circle of women who shared her belief in the importance of trying to make contact with the so-called ‘High Masters’ – often by way of séances. Her paintings, which sometimes resemble diagrams, were a visual representation of complex spiritual ideas. …
“Through her work with the group The Five Hilma af Klint created experimental automatic drawing as early as 1896, leading her towards an inventive geometric visual language capable of conceptualizing invisible forces both of the inner and outer worlds. As she got more familiar with this form of expression, Hilma af Klint was assigned by the High Masters to create the paintings for the ‘Temple’ – however she never understood what this ‘Temple’ referred to. Hilma af Klint felt she was being directed by a force that would literally guide her hand. …
“In 1906, after 20 years of artistic works, and at the age of 44, Hilma af Klint painted her first series of abstract paintings. …
“Quite apart from their diagrammatic purpose the paintings have a freshness and a modern aesthetic of tentative line and hastily captured image: a segmented circle, a helix bisected and divided into a spectrum of lightly painted colors. … The paintings often depict symmetrical dualities: … up and down, in and out, earthly and esoteric, male and female, good and evil. …
“Hilma af Klint never dared to show her abstract work to her contemporaries. Her major work, the one dedicated to the Temple, had been questioned and rejected by Rudolf Steiner. Hilma af Klint drew the conclusion that her time was not yet ready to understand them. More than 1200 paintings and drawings were carefully stored away in her atelier, waiting for the future.” More at Wikipedia and also at the Guggenheim. You have until April 23 to see the show.
I include pictures of the unusual museum and of its famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
Thanks for sharing this story. I love your photos
Quite a range of styles, wouldn’t you say? I loved the delight that af Klint takes in colors — whether the colors of a poppy or the colors in her mystical pyramid.
Yes. You are so right. It is fascinating what art meant to her.
Next on my Swedish-culture calendar — the new movie about Astrid Lindgren.
I have not seen the film. I have to do that!
Thanks for this wonderful opportunity to visit the Guggenheim from far away and see an extraordinary exhibit.
You’re welcome. If you get to New York before April 23, you can go, too.
I can’t say I love her work but the story is fascinating–took me back to my Ouija board days!
For some reason, my Ouija board never told me anything I didn’t already know. Same with the 8 ball.