I recently discovered an exhibition catalog by LACMA on their seminal exhibition, ''The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985.” You can read more about it here.
The text has been incredibly influential. I even had a dream in which I was researching Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s work. When I woke up, I had remembered reading her name, but didn’t see any actual work. So I purchased a catalog and discovered how much I enjoyed her work.
This text has directed me towards using symbolism in my compositions. I have always used shapes, but the text helped inspire how much of my work follows the concepts and interests of spiritual abstractionists.
Installation view, Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 12, 2018–February 3, 2019. Photo: David Heald. Taken from https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/hilma-af-klint.
What is Spiritual Abstraction?
One of the first introductory chapters in The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985 is Maurice Tuchman’s historical survey of spiritual abstraction and its wide-spreading influence.
It traces historical inquiries starting in the early 18th century, major movers (Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, František Kupka, and Hilma af Klint), Theosophy, Eastern and Western religious influences, and corresponding movements (Cubism, Symbolism, Italian Futurism, Transcendentalism).
“Visual artists, from the generation born in the 1860s to contemporary times, have turned to a variety of antimaterialist philosophies, with concepts of mysticism or occultism at their core. Terms such as occultism or mysticism should be defined carefully because of the association with the ineffable that surrounds these words and because they are context-specific: art historians and artists use these terms differently than do theologians or sociologists. In the present context mysticism refers to the search for the state of oneness with ultimate reality. Occultism depends upon secret, concealed phenomena that are accessible only to those who have been properly initiated. The occult is mysterious and not readily available to ordinary understanding or scientific reason.
Several ideas are common to most mystical and occult world views: the universe is a single, living substance; mind and matter also are one; all things evolve in dialectical opposition, thus the universe comprises paired opposites (male-female, light-dark, vertical-horizontal, positive-negative); everything corresponds in a universal analogy, with things above as they are below; imagination is real; and self-realization can come by illumination, accident, or an induced state: the epiphany is suggested by heat, fire or light. The ideas that underlie mystical-occult beliefs were transmitted through books, pamphlets, and diagrams, often augmented by illustrations that, because of the ineffable nature of the ideas discussed, were abstract or emphasized the use of symbols…
The five underlying impulses within the spiritual-abstract nexus—cosmic imagery, vibration, synesthesia, duality, sacred geometry—are in fact five structures that refer to underlying forms of thought….”
From Maurice Tuchman’s article, “Hidden Meanings in Abstract Art,” 19-32.
I was a bit aghast at how generic my artist statement had been, with some lines seeming to paraphrase this very generic description of mystical ontologies.
On the plus side, it was exciting to find this treasure trove of information on the genres and conversations in which my artworks circulate.
The importance these artists, their practices and processes, continue today where an antimaterialist critique of the crises that have brought species to extinction, and humanity to its brink, are necessary and needed.
How Does Spirituality Influence Art Today?
FIRELEI BÁEZ at Milk of Dreams in the Venice Biennale. Photo taken from the Venice Biennale website.
“Milk of Dreams,” the art exhibition curated by Cecilia Alemani for the 2022 Venice Biennale, was inspired by famous tarot card artist, Leonara Carrington. Hilma af Klint’s retrospective at the Guggenheim in 2019 drew unprecedented crowds. Transcendentalism seems to be having its moment with “Another World” occurring at LACMA in 2023.
There seems to be interest, especially amongst Millennials and Gen Z, in exploring folk craft, ancestral or indigenous cosmologies, and/or tools of the occult, like tarot. Some artists wish to know and honor their ancestors, while others emphasize the importance of cultural lenses that pre-date modern Christianity, which drove imperial and colonial expeditions in the Americas (and rest of the world).
As a Chinese-American artist, I thought it interesting that European artists cited Buddhism (along with other Eastern philosophies like Hinduism and Taoism) as inspiration and influence.
For me, Buddhism and Taoism are ancestral religions; practicing them brings me closer to my ancestors. It is also an act of resistance, as within the Chinese immigrant community, Taoism is stereotyped as fraudulent and arcane. During the Communist Revolution, Taoism was targeted as an influence to be purged. Personally, I do not know many Chinese-Americans who research Taoism or know much about it, despite it being an ancient cosmology.
Check out the list of artists presenting in the Milk of Dreams for contemporary artists exploring mythology and mysticism.
Artists Who Have Influenced My Spiritual Abstract Art or Art Practices
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky’s work, especially his seminal text, “Concerning the Spiritual in Art,” is an important read for any artist seeking an understanding of spiritual abstraction. Experiencing the World War(s), Kandinsky spoke for his generation and generations to come about the importance of art in shaping humanity. As a child, I studied his works at school, and was drawn at an early age to his abstract circle drawings, which looked like planets floating in space. What else is there to say about this master of masters?
Hilma af Klint
In 2019, when I first began my artist’s journey, I attended a workshop on automatic writing and sketching inspired by Hilma af Klint. I thought it was so cool she had experienced séances, citing them as the inspiration for her most famous works. This inspired me to pursue Dreams after I had a dream in August.
From The Hilma Af Klint Foundation:
Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) is one of Sweden’s most esteemed artists. Today she is celebrated all over the world.
Born in Stockholm, Hilma af Klint studied at the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, graduating with honours in 1887. She established herself as a respected artist in Stockholm, exhibiting figurative paintings and serving briefly as secretary of the Association of Swedish Women Artists. Already at a young age she became involved in spiritualism. Later followed a keen interest in the ideas of Rosicrucianism, Theosophy and Anthroposophy. These modes of spiritual engagement were part of the zeitgeist and popular across Europe – especially in artistic and literary circles – as people sought to reconcile religious beliefs with scientific advances and a new awareness of the plurality of religions.
Af Klint’s conventional paintings became the source of financial income, but what she refers to as the “great work”, realised during her life, remained a separate activity. Only spiritually interested audiences had any knowledge of this body of works. Her attempts to exhibit these paintings to like-minded individuals remained largely unsuccessful and remarks in her notebooks indicate that she felt that the world was not quite ready for the message they were intended to communicate.
Other Links
Paths to Abstraction, Harvard Divinity Bulletin
Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Sophie Taeuber-Arp is credited with being one of the founders of Dadaism. She was an architect and textile designer, noted for her colorful geometric compositions that extended throughout her works, including beaded bags that were influenced by Indigenous cultural patterns. She died at a relatively young age due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
Agnes Pelton
I first saw Agnes Pelton’s work at the Phoenix Art Museum - accidentally, on a business trip. As a child, I’d studied Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, but very few women artists. I was mesmerized by the luminous gradations and giant, orb-like shapes floating through her compositions.
From the Phoenix Art Museum:
Intentionally moving away from the “mainstream” arts community, Pelton eventually settled in Cathedral City, California. She painted conventional desert landscapes to make a living, but it was her abstract studies of earth and light, biomorphic compositions of delicate veils, shimmering stars, and atmospheric horizon lines, that distinguished her work. A believer in numerology, astrology, and faith healing, Pelton’s abstract compositions propelled her into an esoteric world epitomized by the Transcendental Painting Group (1938-1942), a short-lived group that promoted abstract, non-objective art.
Read more at their website.