Piet Mondrian: tableau with large red plane, blue, black, light green and greyish blue, 1921.About the Artist Piet Mondrian pioneered an abstract art of distilled structure based on ideas of harmonic perfection. Mondrian grew up in a small town in the Netherlands, the Netherlands, The officially Kingdom of The Netherlands byname Holland Country, northwestern Europe. Area: 16,034 sq mi (41,528 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 16,300,000. Capital: Amsterdam. Seat of government: The Hague. Most of the people are Dutch. son of a school teacher. His development as an artist was a long search. His early work--notable for landscapes--is realistic and somber in character. The art became increasingly abstract even though Mondrian's subjects were drawn from the natural world. Eventually, he developed a style that was completely abstract, with no links to realistic motifs. As an adult, Mondrian lived on and off in the Netherlands and Paris. In 1938, he relocated to London and eventually to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , where he died in 1944. About the Art The art looks deceptively simple. In fact, it is constructed around subtle properties of form and color arranged in dynamic equilibrium dy·nam·ic equilibrium n. See equilibrium. , and it reflects Mondrian's complex theory. This artist was striving for an expression of complete harmony; he dreamed of a future in which all humankind might live in perfect synchronization (1) See synchronous and synchronous transmission. (2) Ensuring that two sets of data are always the same. See data synchronization. (3) Keeping time-of-day clocks in two devices set to the same time. See NTP. (universal cosmic order) with the forces of the universe. While the art is not simple, it is fundamental: a distillation distillation, process used to separate the substances composing a mixture. It involves a change of state, as of liquid to gas, and subsequent condensation. The process was probably first used in the production of intoxicating beverages. of artistic structure. Mondrian wanted to "paint the universal." This art is based on absolute essence, and the result is exacting, orderly, and pared down. Compositions are based on verticals and horizontals intersecting in·ter·sect v. in·ter·sect·ed, in·ter·sect·ing, in·ter·sects v.tr. 1. To cut across or through: The path intersects the park. 2. only at right angles so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly. See also: Right . There are no diagonals. Color, too, is radically reduced to the fundamentals. Mondrian said, "I forsook natural color for pure color." Aware of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. See also: Color theory, he understood that all colors could be derived from the three primary hues: red, blue, and yellow. He also allowed black, gray, and white as "non-colors." Mondrian called his art Neoplasticism and he wrote about its meaning in a manifesto. It was first published in Dutch (1917-1920), and later republished in other languages, including English (1937). He wrote that a work of art needs to be self-sufficient and not simply a copy or an illusion of something: "the task of art is to express a clear vision of reality." He used the term "abstract-real" to reinforce the idea that the art was a real thing, wholly complete in itself, and not derived from nature. For Mondrian, the artwork's essential reality would express the elemental, underlying force of nature. Mondrian was seeking an art of stability and balance in contrast to what he considered ever-changing surface appearances. A Closer Look Tableau tab·leau n. pl. tab·leaux or tab·leaus 1. A vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life. 2. with Large Red Plane, Blue, Black, Light Green and Greyish Blue (1921) is a perfect square within which Mondrian has positioned eleven rectangles of varying sizes. The parts are organized in a framework of black lines that seem to "lock" everything in place. No curves, no diagonals disturb the basic clarity of expression. The closer we look, the more subtle the composition becomes. It is not based on any calculated mathematical formula. For Mondrian, the structure emerges from intuition and from careful, reflective working and reworking of the interrelationships between the elements. There is a sense of dynamic tension in which every element seems to be at maximum intensity. No one part takes on a greater importance than any other. All the components appear to stay on the same plane spatially--no element gives the illusion of receding into deeper space or extending outwards. There's no mirroring of any two elements. Striving to create an art of dynamic equilibrium, Mondrian rejected the use of symmetry for its static (or "lifeless") expression. Look closely at the black lines. There's nothing formulaic in their arrangement. Sometimes the lines create a border all the way around a shape. Sometimes they encase en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. only part of it, leaving one side
unbounded. At times the line is free-floating and doesn't even
delimit de·lim·it also de·lim·i·tatetr.v. de·lim·it·ed also de·lim·i·tat·ed, de·lim·it·ing also de·lim·i·tat·ing, de·lim·its also de·lim·i·tates To establish the limits or boundaries of; demarcate. a rectangle. Sometimes the line stops partway part·way adv. Informal To a certain degree or distance; in part: partway to town; not even partway reasonable. . Look at the bottom edge on the right, where the yellow and blue shapes meet. Here the black extends only partway down their border. Everything matters in this art of rigor rigor /rig·or/ (rig´er) [L.] chill; rigidity. rigor mor´tis the stiffening of a dead body accompanying depletion of adenosine triphosphate in the muscle fibers. and clarity. Mondrian has created an ideal geometry to express his view about universal laws of art and of life. Classroom Activities Elementary School elementary school: see school. Mondrian used only straight lines and edges, and the lines intersect In a relational database, to match two files and produce a third file with records that are common in both. For example, intersecting an American file and a programmer file would yield American programmers. at 90-degree angles. Talk about vocabulary, including the words horizontal, vertical, and rectangle. Depending on level, introduce parallel lines, perpendicular, symmetry or diagonal. Have students consider where straight lines and rectangles exist in the world (natural and human-made), listing examples. Ask for examples of straight, wavy, meandering, zig-zag, and curvy lines. Have students make two compositions. The first uses any kind of line. The second is strictly limited to straight lines. Ask them: Do you need to use a ruler or tape to keep the lines straight, or not? Middle School A manifesto is a formal written declaration that provides definitions of artistic principles, and the reasons for choosing them. Mondrian wrote one and named his new art Neoplasticism. Divide into workgroups. Each workgroup should establish some binding artistic principles and create a manifesto that outlines them. Don't forget to make up a name for your group! High School Mondrian believed that form had a symbolic meaning, expressing a vision of harmony with larger forces of the universe. Read passages from his manifesto and try to make his case (in your own words) for how the form of a work can express such lofty ideals. Now consider your own views. Do you feel that the form or structure of any artwork could possibly have such power to express a philosophical idea? Make your case for answering yes or no in a debate, individual verbal presentations, or short written essays. Resources Paul, Stella. 20th-Century Art: A Resource for Educators, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999 (includes excerpts from Mondrian's writings). WEB LINKS Sabine Rewald, The Metropolitan Museum of Art website, www.metmuseum.org/ Works_of_Art/recent_acquisitions/1999/co_ rec REC - CONVERT _t_century_1999.363.57.asp Piet Mondrian: The Transatlantic Paintings (see especially "career" section). www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/mondrian/ Stella Paul, museum educator in charge of exhibitions and communication, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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