In a modern art class I took, we learned about the Russian artist Malevich. I found myself intrigued by his art as well as his theories…
In his 1919 manifesto Suprematism, Malevich describes his suprematist philosophies and how these ideas allow for the emancipation of color and lead to eternity. Malevich’s concept of Suprematism supports using color for color’s sake. This suggests that rather than painting the sky blue or the grass green because these are the colors the objects are perceived to be, it is important to “emancipate” color and allow it to be independent from, rather than connected to, an object. For this reason, Malevich paints all of his Suprematist works on a white background, which he believes represents a limitless eternity. He states that art that is abstract or nonobjective “is irrelevant.” He holds the belief that even if it is not clear what the object is, if it has been painted “based on color interrelations,” that is, if the color is related to what is being painted, the artist leaves no room for philosophical potential in their work and instead confines it within the boundaries of what they have created.
As we have grown up making concrete associations between colors and objects, Malevich’s philosophy boldly challenges the reality we have learned to accept. Whether his ideas hold water is purely up to the individual’s perception; however it is stimulating to think about the possibility that there is some other way of looking at the world…
In his 1919 manifesto Suprematism, Malevich describes his suprematist philosophies and how these ideas allow for the emancipation of color and lead to eternity. Malevich’s concept of Suprematism supports using color for color’s sake. This suggests that rather than painting the sky blue or the grass green because these are the colors the objects are perceived to be, it is important to “emancipate” color and allow it to be independent from, rather than connected to, an object. For this reason, Malevich paints all of his Suprematist works on a white background, which he believes represents a limitless eternity. He states that art that is abstract or nonobjective “is irrelevant.” He holds the belief that even if it is not clear what the object is, if it has been painted “based on color interrelations,” that is, if the color is related to what is being painted, the artist leaves no room for philosophical potential in their work and instead confines it within the boundaries of what they have created.
As we have grown up making concrete associations between colors and objects, Malevich’s philosophy boldly challenges the reality we have learned to accept. Whether his ideas hold water is purely up to the individual’s perception; however it is stimulating to think about the possibility that there is some other way of looking at the world…
1 comment:
It is interesting to read your post because I am very interested in art since early age and just now (this and last semester) I am starting to understand and appreciate modern art. I was always used to see the classical and traditional art, mostly in old European galleries and castles, where there is generally lack of modern 20th century art pieces, especially in medieval castles :). But as I took also art class at our University which I enjoyed very much, one of my favorite classes so far. This class focused on impressionist through Pollock, so from 1850s to 1950s. We also talked about Malevich and his play with colors and its “emancipation” which is more or less making them independent from the objects. This helped me tremendously in understanding the modern art and I learn that one of the most important things, when trying to understand modern art is to learn about the artist, his life and his intentions. This knowledge can guide us greatly to the path that the artist is suggesting although some artists just want us to interpret their art pieces as freely as we want and out imagination is capable.
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