Paitings for the Future

Paintings for the Future

     Hilma af Klint began producing her many art works long before abstract art came on the scene, in 1906, producing these radical art works until 1915. Although formally trained, the works she did were of Spiritual ,Theosophical, Rosicrucianism, and of the Anthroposopy realm,  and she was not part of any kind of art movement during these times. Believing only in those movements of the spiritual nature that were interwoven with Eastern, Western and occult beliefs ,“like many artists and intellectuals around the turn of the century.”(Dover, Caitlan) Unlike artists of her time and those later, she did them for the theosophical thoughts that came to her mind through what she believed were commissioned from above. Spiritual communications, that is, were commissioned from the spiritual realm. She received instructions by spirits through commissions through channeling or a psychograph a machine used for channeling spirits, at first. Later she communicated through her mind, and the art became more self-directed. She called the  paintings, “The Paintings for the Temple”, and these spirits commissioned her to paint them for the spiritual Temple to come, that would be round, with many layers, she was told. I couldn’t help thinking that the Guggenheim museum, although not a temple of spiritualism, was indeed round with many layers.

The art works are of  botanical drawings, painted landscapes, and each have their own form, and different size. Some of her very largest paintings she titled, The Ten Largest”, were painted during 1907 and these were supposed to be directed by the spirit communicators. These are complex floral, geometric, biomorphic forms with, “invented words, creating a vocabulary of complex and shifting meanings.”(Dover)  The colors and shapes where what I enjoyed most about her paintings. The forms were very innovative for her time. These paintings reminded me of  60’s  or 70s paintings, of the age of flower power, and make love not war expressions, I somehow envisioned this when I looked at these paintings. Certain paintings stir our senses, our feelings. As far as how I felt about these paintings I got no such feelings of emotions at first. I did feel however Ms. Klint truly believed these paintings were directed by the spirit realm of some kind. When reading about all her art works I sensed her earnest desire to communicate with the beyond and the spiritual. I am slightly Psychic and please don’t think I am nuts for saying this. I have a sixth sense about things, objects, people, and, spiritually, I didn’t feel anything when viewing these paintings until I viewed her watercolors. That’s not to say other people wouldn’t.

I have always been connected to nature and paint nature when I can in some way, but also, do love to draw people who are close to me. I always feel spiritually connected to anything of the  earth and nature and Klint's artistic endeavors to focus on the “divine in nature,” on her watercolors she did in the early thirties and early forties, reflect more of a landscape quality I could more relate to. Although the forms were not quite identifiable as any particular landscape, I could imagine hills and mountains in these, I, myself love to paint, and loved the colors she chose.  To me the colors she chose on these were a connection to her spirituality and this is what I do to interject some form of spirituality in my paintings. I will pick a color, for example, for a river scene or ocean, just because I like this color and will design a painting around these colors. So, in the way she used color, I found myself inside of her work. I also base my identity based on my use of coloring I wear. I’m not so sure if this is an, “Identity”, identifier for us in any of our readings but it would fit into an identity category. Doesn’t every culture use a certain amount of coloring they see in their own culture? If we are conservative or somewhat shy do we not wear flashy colors so as not to be noticed as much?  So in in this use of color do we not gain some thought of spirituality? Do some colors and even shapes, such as the color and shapes Klint used in all of her paintings and in mine, connect us to spirituality . I think so.