Down on the Farm - Art Gallery of Alberta

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramPhotography: The Modern View: A Surveycontinuedconsidered music abstract by nature as it does not try to represent the exterior world but ratherto express in an immediate way the inner feelings of the human soul. He was also influenced bythe theories of Theosophy expressed by H.P. Blavatsky. These theories, which had atremendous influence on many artists during the 1920s, postulated that creation was ageometrical progression beginning with a single point. Kandinsky’s mature paintings focus ongeometric forms and the use of colour as something autonomous and apart from a visualdescription of an object or other form and through relinquishing outer appearances he hoped tomore directly communicate feelings to the viewer.The most radical abstractionist of the early 20thcentury was Piet Mondrian (1872-1944). Born inAmersfoort, the Netherlands, Mondrian began hiscareer as a primary teacher. While teaching he alsopracticed painting and these early works, whiledefinitely representational in nature, show theinfluence various artistic movements such aspointillism and fauvism had on him. Mondrian’s art,like Kandinsky’s, was also strongly influenced by thetheosophical movement and his work from 1908 to theend of his life involved a search for the spiritualknowledge expressed by theosophist theory.Piet MondrianComposition with Yellow Patch, 1930Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, DusseldorfIn 1911 Mondrian moved to Paris and came under the influence of Picasso’s cubism. Whilecubist influences can be seen in his works from 1911 to 1914, however, unlike the CubistsMondrian attempted to reconcile his painting with his spiritual pursuits. In this pursuit he beganto simplify elements in his paintings further than the cubists had done until he had developed acompletely non-representational, geometric style. In this work Mondrian did not strive for purelyrical emotion as Kandinsky did. Rather, his goal was pure reality defined as equilibriumachieved through the balance of unequal but equivalent oppositions. By 1919 Mondrian beganproducing the grid-based paintings for which he became renowned and this subject motivatedhis art practice for the rest of his life.AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca