A Constant State of Change: Painting Nature

William Baziotes, Sea Forms, 1951. Pastel paper mounted on board. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, purchase

“There is no particular system I follow when I begin a painting. Each painting has its own way of evolving…Each beginning suggests something. Once I sense the suggestion, I begin to paint intuitively.”—William Baziotes

William Baziotes, who studied objects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, developed an interest in rendering the underwater world. Like Paul Klee, Baziotes strove to become one with nature by penetrating the mysteries of the world that lay hidden beneath the surface. Indeed, because of their close affinities, works by the two artists were shown together in several exhibitions throughout the 1940s and 50s.

In 1957, Baziotes and Klee were presented with French Surrealist Odilon Redon in an exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston. The three were “creatively joined,” the catalogue noted. “In their emphasis on the beginnings of creation, they have shown us that every existence is in a state of development—that every plant, flower, animal, and being is in a state of change—that change is the essence of all nature, all mankind, and all art. . . . Through the free use of imagination, intuition, and visions they have transmitted the secrets of the new worlds of flora, fauna, and beings.”

This work is on view in Ten Americans: After Paul Klee through May 6, 2018.

Tuesday Tunes: A Playlist for Jackson Pollock

Taking inspiration from the major theme of music in Ten Americans: After Paul Klee, we paired 11 staff members with 11 works from the exhibition and asked them to create a playlist in response to their individual artwork. Miriam Deaver, Manager of School and Outreach Programs created this playlist in response to Jackson Pollock’s “Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook).”

Jackson Pollock, Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook), c. 1939–42, Brush and India ink on paper, 17 1/2 x 14 in., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Lee Krasner Pollock, 1982 © Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

As with most works by Jackson Pollock, the emphasis for me is the feeling his work evokes from the viewer. Devoid of color, yet acutely expressive, Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook) conveys aggression, disconnection, and movement. Its raw quality emphasizes the hand of the artist, thus Pollock is also present in this playlist at times—he was here, and he left a legacy. Enjoy!

Miriam Deaver, Manager of School and Outreach Programs

Feeling inspired? Create your own playlist based around works in the exhibition and send it to us at communications@phillipscollection.org and we may feature it on our blog and social media.

Creating an Artistic Language

Adolph Gottlieb, The Seer, 1950. Oil on canvas, 59 3/4 x 71 5/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1952. © Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

In 1941, in the aftermath of Paul Klee’s death and memorial retrospective organized by the Museum of Modern Art, Adolph Gottlieb produced a new, daring series, which eventually included over 500 works. He called these abstract inventions pictographs, or paintings filled with hieroglyphic-like forms. The Seer is one of the largest and last in the series. In a flat grid, Gottlieb juxtaposed abstract symbols conjured through free association with universal archetypes such as the arrow, circle, triangle, and ellipse in a manner reminiscent of Klee’s mature compositions.

During the 1940s, Gottlieb drew on Klee’s example in creating a unique artistic language that reconciled several opposing elements: line versus color, structure versus spontaneity, thought versus feeling, and stasis versus dynamism. According to Klee, these dualities mirror the primal conflict that has existed since the beginning of human existence. Gottlieb echoed the view, noting, “These opposites parallel our inner conflicts which are usually unresolved.”

This work is on view in Ten Americans: After Paul Klee through May 6, 2018.