What is Paul Klee’s May Picture if not a patchwork? It’s not an aerial shot of beautifully arranged fields of flowers. No. I see pieces of cloth sewn together. And when my eyes hover over the upper center-right, I see that (most of the) lighter-colored pieces of cloth were used there… Something is unbalanced there. Although it could be just the wind that’s blowing, there’s something behind the patchwork. Is that the profile of a dog in a scarf? It could be, but it also doesn’t have to be. What is it? I can’t tell, and I’m not sure if I really want to know. I like the shades of red on the bottom left of the canvas. Together, they form the anchor of the whole piece.
Tag: art history
Side Notes on Paul Klee’s Coming to Bloom
In Coming to Bloom, Klee’s quadrilaterals touch one another only occasionally. Predominantly, each quadrilateral floats on the dark surface on its own without touching its neighbors. The vibrant palette reminds me of the colors of mood rings; the piece becomes psychological. The question I ask is: Are the colors fading? If we imagine they’re floating on dark water or some sort of tar, maybe they are. Or… the background is a surface on which information — quadrilaterals (squares, rectangles, and trapezoids) of different sizes and colors — is recorded. The information, however, is encrypted and cannot be deciphered. We find no (hidden) clues on the canvas that help us decrypt the meaning. Very likely, there’s no message that needs to be delivered. Only presence. Nonetheless, it’s a fertile land that allows interpretations to bloom freely.
Side Notes on Paul Klee’s In the Style of Kairouan
Looking at a 1914 watercolor and pencil painting by Paul Klee. It’s called In the Style of Kairouan, and it is considered Klee’s first abstract work.
Something about the work makes me feel like I’m reading someone’s diary — in this case, Klee’s diary. It is a profoundly personal journal entry written in a language that only sounds familiar but isn’t. I cannot see this painting from the other side. I cannot see it through Klee’s eyes, using his mind to decrypt the work, and this keeps me from understanding the thing in itself but it’s fine because it is an opportunity to drift freely and enjoy a moment of meaning creation. At first, I explore the surface of the work intensely. I actively form interpretations in my mind, and then I let go and get lost in it like a log in the middle of the sea.
There is a simplicity in the painting that almost makes me uncomfortable. Rectangles/quadrilaterals of different colors and sizes fill the space. There’s no room to breathe. Then, unpretentious circles come to turn the collage of rectangles into… art.
Most of the rectangles/quadrilaterals stand vertically, except a few. The circles live inside the horizontal ones, but not all horizontal rectangles/quadrilaterals have circles in them. The left side of the painting is conquered by the spirit of red; the right side by the spirit of green.
Could it be that Klee’s unconscious did most of the work?
I’d like to believe it’s a moment of boredom that served as the fertile soil for this piece.
Although there’s nothing to see here, there’s a lot to stay for.
Bored Absurdist 