Enjoying a 'Dialogue' with Klee's Works!
This time, I will be introducing the works of Paul Klee.
Paul Klee
was born in Switzerland in 1879 and was active in Germany and other places.
Klee's works are simple and rustic, yet they captivate people at a single glance.
A rich variety of colors, textures, and expressions
First of all, Klee's paintings have beautiful colors.
I know it sounds simple to say, but color is important, isn't it!
What is depicted is the door of a mosque.
It brings to mind the beautiful mosaic decorations that lie beyond the door.
The entire painting is divided into a fine grid, with each square painted in a different color.
It is hard to tell on an LCD screen, but the real thing is truly beautiful...!
In this work, warm and cool colors, as well as light and shadow, are arranged to create contrast, giving a sense of depth that draws you into the image.
Even if it looks like a chaotic collection of colors at first glance,Klee's works are actually meticulously calculated.
Furthermore, the diversity of his expressive methods is also a charm.
He didn't just use oil paints, watercolors, and pen drawings;
he also pasted cloth and paper onto the canvas, and even used plasterboard and newspaper as supports.
The variety of textures and techniques makes me feel excited just looking at them.
(Oil and pen, ink, on textured wallpaper)
Gingerbread is a classic Christmas baked good.
It is painted on wallpaper, giving the surface a textured feel.
The texture and colors are just like the real treat!
(Watercolor and brush, layered gauze primed with plaster, mounted on plywood)
Three layers of gauze are pasted onto plywood primed with plaster.
By evoking the image of materials decaying, this work visually represents the passage of time.
A world view that somehow draws you in
It is fun to look at the superficial aspects like color and material, but that is not all there is to it.
When you look at the works out of curiosity, you find yourself completely immersed in their world view before you know it.
What Klee depicts is a scene where reality and fantasy seem to intermingle.
It is as if they are both figurative and abstract paintings.
It may look like an abstract painting, but the triangles woven by the bands of color represent the pyramids of Egypt.
Although the motif is a real landscape, the scene depicted is like another world.
It fits the image of a Necropolis—a 'city of the dead'—perfectly.
On top of that, the titles are also somewhat meaningful.
You naturally find yourself wondering how the depiction on the canvas relates to the title of the work,and your thoughts begin to wander.
Around the time this work was painted, Klee was serving in the military for World War I.
Considering that, the word 'chosen' also feels somewhat profound.
Flowers grow from the yellow house toward the heavens,
evoking a sense of energy to overcome a painful reality.
The woman is like a marionette, and one cannot feel any emotion from her.
Was the life skill this woman acquired to emotionlessly let things pass?
It makes me think about her circumstances.
The depiction is fantastical, yetit is also amazing how it has a sense of presence as if you have stepped into the painting!
It is as if sounds can be heard from the canvas and the air is flowing, with stories overflowing from the work.
(In fact, poems and other works have been created inspired by Klee's pieces.)
When listening to music, various images can be generated in the brain.
This is a work that seems to visualize those images.
The mysterious tone of the bassoon invites us into a world of fantasy.
It seems like it could exist in reality, but it doesn't.
It seems like you can understand what is drawn, but you can't.
This reality line is exquisite, and you find yourself drawn in, thinking,"What on earth is this painting trying to express?".
Invisible imagination
Klee left behind this famous quote:
Art does not reproduce the visible, but makes visible.
Klee's works, which express the "invisible," do not strongly assert something themselves; rather,there is plenty of room left for the viewer to imagine freely.
That said, he does not push the viewer away with esoteric expressions.
Rather,there is a friendliness that makes you want to approach them,as if the work is speaking to you gently.
The work provides the material for the viewer's imagination, and in response, the viewer engages sincerely with the work to explore its philosophy.
It is precisely because of thisability to have a dialogue with the workthat Klee's works never get boring, no matter how many times you see them or how long you look at them.