#art, Spirituality in paintings: Form, Colour and Abstract Art…

Kandinsky, in his book «Concerning the Spiritual in Art» poses the idea that art must reflect its own time. To make art that seeks to emulate or copy, say the art of the ancient Egyptians is to make art, like he said, that is a baby dead before birth. Or to paint like a monkey. Ridiculing those who simply copy, as would a monkey, the gestures of a human, but without any real thought or intention behind the gestures. For art to have spirit, for a painting to become «immortal», it has to have spirit and intention, and not simply technical perfection. Technical perfection will create a painting that says nothing, that does not elicit a visceral and intellectual reaction in the viewer.

Art is complex. Art is philosophy in colour, movement and style. A painting is not art everlasting if it does not carry with it the spirit of the time in which it was painted and the culture which it represents…

In the painting «Within the Light» (see above), an abstract painted with acrylics on canvas, I have chosen to represent the «idea» of «light» by creating light with an optical illusion created by colour. Colour is energy. Colour is light refracted in such a way as to make the human eye see different shades and tones, even though, technically (meaning physiologically) there are only three. The rest of the colours are brought to our senses with the help of light.

Colour is also sound. Kandinsky (again) referred to the sounds of colours to create his symphonies on canvas or paper. There are people with a specific disorder that makes them hear colour, so perhaps Kandinsky was not so far off the mark with that idea. In any event colour is a source of power as colours are linked to emotions, feelings, and ideas.

When an artist paints an abstract piece the reference may be completely lost to the viewer. There is not a direct relationship between the painting and the observer and the observer may simply stand in front of the painting and wonder what it is, or ask the artist or curator. But the artist must have a definite and precise reference for his work, be it abstract or figurative (the only two types of art there is). This identification with the reference and representing it in an abstract work unites the artist with the piece and gives it spirit. The spirit of the times when it was painted which in turns makes the painting eternal, powerful, meaningful and capable of eliciting emotions from the observer.

This, to me, is the spirituality of and in art…

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Cheers…