Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky

Embracing the psychological effects of color and form

The Russian-born artist Wassily Kandinsky emigrated to Munich, where he became a leader in the movement of German Expressionism. He was a member of the group of Munich artists known as Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), named after his painting of that title from 1903. Kandinsky’s art was more abstract than his Expressionist contemporaries, and he is now regarded as a pioneer in abstract painting. Kandinsky was also a teacher of art, and he published a few books during his lifetime, including the book or woodcuts entitled Klänge (Sounds) and educational texts like Point and Line to Plane and Concerning the Spiritual in Art, the latter published in 1910.

Don’t let the word “Spiritual” scare you away. Kandinsky was a follower of Theosophy, a religion established by Russian mystic Madame Helena Blavatsky in the late 19th century that placed a heavy emphasis on colors and geometric forms as symbols of spiritual qualities. One need not subscribe to any such color cult, however, in order to appreciate what Kandinsky is saying here. Even atheists and materialists can understand and accept Kandinsky’s theories of “spiritual” art by simply substituting the word “emotional.” Essentially what Kandinsky is saying is that certain colors and shapes carry specific psychological and symbolic baggage with them that inspires particular emotional effects in the viewer of a work of art. An artist should embrace and utilize these emotional effects to create art that engenders a deeper psychological experience in the viewer than that attained through mere camera-image representation.

One aspect I don’t like about Concerning the Spiritual in Art is Kandinsky’s constant denigration of representational art. One must remember that, at the time, the academic art establishment and modern artists were basically at intellectual war with one another, the latter often being disparaged as “degenerate,” “naive,” or just plain terrible artists. The more abstract the art, the more the artist in question was a target for such invective. These days, however, I think we can recognize that there is a place in our lives for both representational and abstract art, just as there is a place in our lives for classical, jazz, and pop music. Each genre has its share of good and bad artists. There’s no reason why a realist painter couldn’t employ the ideas that Kandinsky imparts in this book, and doing so would probably result in a more effective and powerful end result.

As far as these artist manifestos go, I tend to judge them on three criteria: 1) Is the writing articulate? 2) Is the author saying something that’s actually useful to artists? and 3) Is it inspiring? Does reading this book make you want to paint? Kandinsky’s Concerning the Spiritual in Art is pretty successful on all three counts. Despite the rather abstract subject matter, Kandinsky’s writing is clear and accessible. Readers who know nothing about modern art will come away from this book with a better understanding of the theory behind abstract paintings and how to appreciate them. Kandinsky’s teachings are practical and applicable to artists working today, even those who are in no way spiritually inclined. Much of the most useful information is contained in Chapter 6, The Language of Form and Color, which should be assigned reading for undergraduate art students. Lastly, reading this book really does make you want to pick up a brush and go to work. Kandinsky’s advocation of freedom from pictorial conventions is liberating, and he reminds the artist that art is an ongoing experiment in which there are still discoveries to be made.
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