Guggenheim Museum

When Swedish artist Hilma af Klint died in 1944 at the age of 81, she left behind a legacy like no other which included more than 1,000 paintings and works on paper that were kept largely private. She believed the world was not yet ready to truly appreciate her works of art. As a result, she made sure her work remained unseen for another twenty years. It was not until recently that she decide it was time to take her artwork public. It was several years before her that artist  Vasily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and others would take similar strides to free their own artwork of representational content. At the Guggenheim Museum, her most prized exhibit entitled, “Paintings for the Future," represented her boldly colorful works, many of them as large-scale projects, reflected an ambitious, with a spiritual meaning through a synthesis of natural and geometric forms, textual elements, and esoteric symbolism.

In Rudolf Steiner's book on Theosophy he takes an interesting approach to how we operate as human beings and what we believe in. He states, "The soul does not yet see, but this feeling allows the power of truth to take hold of it, so that truth then gradually draws near the soul and opens its 'higher sense.'" (Steiner, 15). In reference to this quote , we can anticipate that when having an open mind your imagination is able to run wild. In Kints, painting you can visualize her way of thinking through her artistry. In a sense, “Everything is not what they seem.” Her work, allows you to cultivate your mind and evaluate your thought process, and through a variety of different elements is a deeper meaning in what she is trying to portray. For example, you may not notice right away but most of her works takes the form of a human being. The blue colors of her work represents a woman figure and the yellow represents a male.

Group IX/SUW, The Swan, No. 1. Oil on canvas

The Swan as a spirit animal can help you see into the future and develop your own intuitive abilities. It is a symbol of purity, beauty, grace, love and elegance, but it can also symbolize divination and balance.

Group X, Altarpieces. No. 1, Altarpiece, 1915.  Oil and metal leaf on canvas.

At the spiritual level the pyramid is a symbol for the integration of self-and soul. The ancient Egyptians saw the shape of the pyramids as a method of providing new life to the dead, because the pyramid represented the form of the physical body emerging from the earth and ascending towards the light of the sun.

Unlike Kint, none of my works deals with the meaning of spirituality but I would like to think that one day It will. Spirituality gives people something to look forward too; it gives them hope and meaning. I would like to think that one day I can create a piece of work that touches one's subconscious being and introduce that same energy in the hearts of others.