minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Introduction

This month we will consider “Around The Fish”, a painting by Paul Klee. Among the most versatile and wide-ranging of modern artists, Klee experimented in nearly every avant-garde style, yet maintained his distinctive artistic personality throughout. A German citizen by birth, Klee moved to Munich in 1906 to pursue his studies. His mature paintings, drawings, and prints push the boundary between abstraction and figuration. Often these paintings are populated by whimsical figures who are carefully constructed from line, color, and shape to form particular designs and tell particular stories. Klee taught for many years at the Bauhaus, the famed academy dedicated to the fine and applied arts. When the Nazi party came to power in 1933, Klee fled to Switzerland; he was later denounced as a "degenerate artist." He remained in Switzerland, in progressively failing health, until his death.

Although they are often enigmatic, Klee believed his personal hieroglyphs and figurative elements had wider connotations: "The object grows beyond its appearance through our knowledge of its inner being, through the knowledge that the thing is more than its outward aspect suggests.

Respond to the painting in any way you find meaningful. Below are some questions you might consider as you think about this unusual piece, and some links to learn more about Klee and his work.


Questions to Consider

1. What is your personal opinion of “Around The Fish”? What do you make of the composition? The use of color? The story? Would you want this painting on your wall? Why or why not?
2. Klee is considered to be the father of abstract art. He relied on color, line and shape rather than a realistic representation of subject matter. Has abstract painting had any influence on photography? Or is photography the antithesis of abstract art? Explain.
3. Symbolism often comes up in the critical discussion of Klee’s art. What do you think the symbols in “Around The Fish” mean? Do you ever use symbols in your photographic work? If so, consider sharing an example.
4. Klee was heavily influenced by music. He was a musical prodigy as a young child. One of the linked articles describes how he made connections between music and his art. Glancing through some of his other work in the links, do you see an influence of music? If you are a musician or musically trained, does music influence your art? How?
5. Have you ever experimented with abstract photography? If so, please consider sharing one of your images here and discussing it.

Links for Further Study

https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Paul_Klee/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_-D3BRBIEiwAjVMy7MeuomoUi6B0cFtLYJbEYe7Hrq6Gzw_qj9KGHLg00rH3iBNU1AmKfxoCnikQAvD_BwE

https://www.guggenheim-venice.it/en/art/artists/paul-klee/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_-D3BRBIEiwAjVMy7HZtx2L8-1WHyf5EYNvgOC7oavmemRKb-VX4ZBT02FiqjoUGuhxkWxoCD2wQAvD_BwE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Klee

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/klee/hd_klee.htm

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/klee/hd_klee.htm

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-what-you-need-to-know-about-paul-klee

https://www.inverse.com/article/51880-paul-klee-google-doodle-paintings

https://mymodernmet.com/paul-klee-art-and-music/

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/klee-paul/

Fair use: https://www.paulklee.net/around-the-fish.jsp

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fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

Even though I seldom contribute anything to your Monthly Masters, I have on many occasions spent hours caught up in exploring and learning things. So I appreciate these topics you present. I tend to process my response as feelings, and rarely translate those into words. Paul Klee's works, in particular those with soft pastel colors, have had a tremendous effect on me. It never occurred to me to analyze why. I just knew that the colors were wonderfully interesting to me. Not all that long ago I spent many hours putting a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle together of one of his paintings, and in so doing, I did analyzing every part of it in terms of color, as one does when working a puzzle. So I took on a whole different angle of interest. I had no idea he played the violin until reading some of the links. I thought that was interesting because I started playing violin at an early age, and continued until many years later when it was discovered by one of my teachers, that I was playing by ear, and I had little aptitude or interest in actually reading music. It was also of interest that he enjoyed children's art so much. I think that goes a long way to understanding his work. My art work was almost always some sort of abstract expression, and somewhere along the way, after digital came along, I felt more free to explore the abstract compositions that were available to the camera, which is surely why I got so enthusiastic photographing water and ice. Three examples, of what I spend a goodly amount of time photographing. Water and ice sooc, and both, in a black and white with some of the values inverted.

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minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks so much Mark for taking the time to respond! It is always my hope that some people actually get something out of these things. It has been a wonderful learning experience for me to research them, and I'm sure I get more out of it than anyone. It is good to hear from a traditional artist and experienced musician to add depth of understanding to this artist's work. I share your pleasure in abstract photography especially ice, which is rare here, but when travel was possible, I always sought out travel destinations that might have ice. I was so distracted by the beauty of the ice in Iceland that I fell in the arctic ocean, a memorable experience in and of itself.

I love these photographs. I will add one or two of my own to the thread and hope others will too.

ediesaul

For me, Klee is important to study as part of the history of art. However, I have no reaction to his paintings and drawings. There are modernists which I like so my feelings have nothing to do with a change of style. Regarding the specific painting "Around the Fish," the only part I relate to is the smaller fish's moment of surprise and horror at realizing it's going to end on the plate. I don't understand the objects around the fish.

Thanks for the lesson. I very much appreciate learning, and I am grateful for the time and effort you put in for us to see art through a different lens, so to speak.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks for stopping by to take a look Edie. Klee is definitely a different kind of artist! I've always been aware of his work but until I delved into it I thought he was a product of a later time period.

srt101fan

minniev,
I just read through this thread again and realized you mentioned posting your own abstract photographs but you never did.... I for one would be very interested in seeing them. I realize that by now most "watchers" have stopped watching this thread and you wouldn't get many viewers at this time. But maybe you can post some of your abstract work in a future thread?

I don't often comment in your Monthly Masters' Critiques but I love reading your and others' comments and viewing the main work and those submitted by others. Thank you for your topics; they are a UHH highlight!

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Oh please do jump in on the Masters, it is an open conversation. And do add your own images. There are no rights or wrongs here. I'm no expert in art by any means. In UHH, any comment can raise an image to the top of a thread, so I'll be happy to post a smattering of mine. And some may not be "true" abstracts, so I'm very willing to concede to anyone who posts an argument to the contrary!

flooding in the delta, upside down

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lobster rope, Monhegan, Maine

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ice, Jonkursalon, Iceland

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My own fish, taken at the local science museum and edited for a creative look

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srt101fan

Wonderful images, minniev, thanks for posting. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing them. The argument over what is a "pure" abstract has academic value but can also interfere with the pleasure of viewing an image. So, putting that aside, I think yours are abstract enough!

I find abstracts intriguing. Some speak to me just as much as representational art can but I'm not sure how or why. I mean when I see a picture of a person, mountain, horse or tree, the fact that I recognize what I see must influence my reaction to it. But in a true abstract that 'recognition' isn't there. Are form, shape, line and color the subject in an abstract? If so, how do they speak to you?

Looking forward to next month's topic!

fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

Wow minniev, that first shot, flooding in the delta, really knocks me out. , upside down, or right side up.

srt101fan

I agree with that!
BTW, I love your work too, fergmark!

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thank you.

For me, abstract relies more on shapes and color/tonal relationships. But again, I'm no expert!

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I am overly fond of flipping reflection photos upside down.

fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

Why thank you srt!

fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

I admit I have used flipping abstract paintings as I worked on them, and very often check to see what a photographic image does when inverted. This pond ice from a conveniently located pond between home and the library. The ice can change dramatically day by day with the changing conditions. Nothing real special about it, but once I flipped it, I left it that way.

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minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Excellent. Ice is a grand subject isn’t it? I know what you meant about it being so different every day. I wish we had a bit more ice in winter. Last year we had no days cold enough for ice.