Course Details
953: "Made You Look, Made You Think:" The Early Pioneers of Abstraction
February 7, 8, 9, and 11
11:45 AM -
1:15 PM
In-Person
For centuries the goal of art was authenticity. Whatever the subject matter, it had to be clear, recognizable, and accurate. Suddenly, around the early 20th-century, things changed dramatically. Instead of lucidity, increasing numbers of European painters resorted to ambiguous forms, broad swaths of unnatural color, and profound spatial ambiguity. According to one practitioner, "Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible." To understand the complex issues behind this statement, this short course will focus on the life and careers of Abstraction's earliest adherents: Hilma af Klint, Vasily Kandinsky, Kasimir Malevich, and Piet Mondrian.
Class Type: Lecture and Discussion
Class Format: Online
Hours of Reading: No reading
Study Group Leader(s):
Chris WithChristopher With has worked in the education department of the National Gallery of Art and has a degree in German history from UCLA.