Wassily Kadinsky Abstract Art December 16 1866 December

Wassily Kadinsky Abstract Art December 16, 1866 - December 13, 1944 “I applied streaks and blobs of colors onto the canvas with a palette knife and I made them sing with all the intensity I could. . . ”

KADINSKY FACTS • Born in Moscow, Russia • Parents were musicians he could play the piano and cello at an early age. • Studied law and economics at the University of Moscow • At the age of thirty, Kandinsky left Moscow and went to Munich to study life-drawing, sketching and anatomy, regarded then as basic for an artistic education. • Work exhibited in Europe from 1903 onward

1895 Monet's Haystacks at Giverny. "It was from the catalog I learned this was a haystack. I was upset I had not recognized it. I also thought the painter had no right to paint in such an imprecise fashion. Dimly I was aware too that the object did not appear in the picture. . . “

KADINSKY AND MUSIC “ “Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. ” Kandinsky used color in a highly theoretical way associating tone with timbre (the sound's character), hue with pitch, and saturation with the volume of sound. He even claimed that when he saw color he heard music.

Improvisation 31

Composition V

Composition VII “The most complex piece he ever painted” 1913

PROCEDURES 1. Listen to different types of music- Record thoughts in sketchbook Colors, Lines, Shapes, Textures… 2. Label 5 pieces of paper with initials Listen to 5 different songs- Paint to the music 3. Cut compositions into small shapes (squares, triangles, diamonds) 4. Incorporate shapes into a new composition 5. Use one color of paint to unify the composition

Music • Renaissance 1400 -1600 – Palestrina • Baroque 1580 -1750 – Bach • Classical /Enlightenment 1720 -1830 – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven • Romantic 1820 -1900 – Opera, Tchaikovsky, Wagner • Impressionism- 1860 -1890 – Debussy, Ravel • Modern/Contemporary 1900 -Present – The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson

EVALUATION • 5 paintings to music • The composition incorporates all 5 paintings • The composition is interesting and unique • The work is well crafted • Written Critique- Principles of Design • Variety, Rhythm, Contrast, Repetition, Unity 125 points

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