Suprematism
" We have rejected reason because we have found another reason that could be called transrational, which has its own law, construction and sense… …This reason has found a way-Cubism-of expressing the object."
-Kasimir Severinovich Malevich
-Kasimir Severinovich Malevich
Take a brief look at simple suprematism before going into details
"Suprematism" was term developed by Russian artist, Kasimir Malevich, in 1915. (However, he had been researching and philosophizing about it prior to that time) The movement is characterized by simple geometric shapes and is often associated with spiritual purity. However, it was not only Malevich that had discovered this new movement. It was Mikhail Larionov (1881-1964) and Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962), the creators of "rayonnism," which spurred the ideas which influenced Malevich. Their ideas involving art that was a mixture of cubism, futurism, and orphism is where Malevich looked to for his ideas on suprematism. Although Goncharova and Larionov did influence Malevich, it was him that first took cubist geometry to its logical conclusion of absolute geometric abstraction. [left: this picture was created in 1910, before he had developed suprematism into a serious art movement.] Malevich explored different aspects and devices of cubism and futurism, but was completely obsessed with the anomaly of the lingering subject mater in his work. This bothered him until, as he says in his own words, "...in the year 1913, in my desperate attempt to free art from the burden of the object, I took refuge in the square form and exhibited a picture which consisted of nothing more than a black square on a white field." This was the first example of the style to which Malevich named, "suprematism."
Nadia Khodossievitch Leger
Suprematism-Geometric Forms in Space No. 5
Created in 1924
Although, not created by Malevich, this print was created in the same time period in the style of suprematism. However, the artist in this case, Nadia Kodossievitch Leger, did not follow all the rules of suprematism. Although she followed the principles of geometric shapes, the original characteristics of suprematist art were black and white colors. This piece includes these but adds in also, some vibrant untraditional colors. This piece falls in to the drawing category and was originally created in 1924. The piece was made out of ink, gouache and graphite on paper. The painting was recreated in 1970. This abstract style uses the brighter colors as well as grayscale shades to portray illusions to the viewer.
Suprematism-Geometric Forms in Space No. 5
Created in 1924
Although, not created by Malevich, this print was created in the same time period in the style of suprematism. However, the artist in this case, Nadia Kodossievitch Leger, did not follow all the rules of suprematism. Although she followed the principles of geometric shapes, the original characteristics of suprematist art were black and white colors. This piece includes these but adds in also, some vibrant untraditional colors. This piece falls in to the drawing category and was originally created in 1924. The piece was made out of ink, gouache and graphite on paper. The painting was recreated in 1970. This abstract style uses the brighter colors as well as grayscale shades to portray illusions to the viewer.
Kazimir Malevich
Painting and the Problem of Architecture Vol. 3, №. 2
Created in 1928
Kazimir Malevich created this model of abstract architecture in 1928. Kazimir believed that by developing architecture in supremacist terms would create a new type of abstract architecture. Malevich understood the historic importance of architecture as an abstract visual art, and between 1915 and 1923 (and later) he experimented with three-dimensional drawings and models in which he studies the problems of form in three dimensions. These not only were of significance in the growth of constructivism in Russia, but, spread to Germany and Western Europe by his disciples they influenced the design teachings of the Bauhaus and the course of the international style of modern architecture. The simplistic shapes and clean aspect of the colors was supposed to appeal to the audience and help fix, the structural problems that occurred in architecture
Painting and the Problem of Architecture Vol. 3, №. 2
Created in 1928
Kazimir Malevich created this model of abstract architecture in 1928. Kazimir believed that by developing architecture in supremacist terms would create a new type of abstract architecture. Malevich understood the historic importance of architecture as an abstract visual art, and between 1915 and 1923 (and later) he experimented with three-dimensional drawings and models in which he studies the problems of form in three dimensions. These not only were of significance in the growth of constructivism in Russia, but, spread to Germany and Western Europe by his disciples they influenced the design teachings of the Bauhaus and the course of the international style of modern architecture. The simplistic shapes and clean aspect of the colors was supposed to appeal to the audience and help fix, the structural problems that occurred in architecture
Kazimir Malevich
Black Circle
Created in 1928
This painting is a perfect example of what Malevich strived for in his idea of Suprematism. The simplicity of it is so abstract that people found it hard to understand. This was much like Picasso's cubist movement and the style of art that Malevich and Picasso used were both very similar. Malevich tried to follow the rules of suprematism. This meant that all that a painting was allowed, was black and white shades, with simple geometric shapes. This would create a simplistic aspect of the world which would separate a shape from any other object that existed.
Black Circle
Created in 1928
This painting is a perfect example of what Malevich strived for in his idea of Suprematism. The simplicity of it is so abstract that people found it hard to understand. This was much like Picasso's cubist movement and the style of art that Malevich and Picasso used were both very similar. Malevich tried to follow the rules of suprematism. This meant that all that a painting was allowed, was black and white shades, with simple geometric shapes. This would create a simplistic aspect of the world which would separate a shape from any other object that existed.
After looking at some of these paintings, Malevich's intensions in such simplistic shapes should be explained. Kasimir Malevich was a devoted Christian mystic. When he created these simple geometric shapes, he felt as if it had been demonstrated that a painting could exist entirely independent of any reflection or imitation of the external world---whether is was a figure, landscape, or still life. During 1913, Malevich was still continuing his suprematist drawings and in the initial suprematist composition, the black square within a white square was neutral in effect. His paintings became limited to only black and white colors and only included the geometric shapes of circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, and the cross. These soon became the characteristics relating to suprematism. However, his curiosity about the expressive relations of abstract geometric shapes led him to dessert the rectangular structure and to more to a more dynamic organization of diagonally oriented rectangles arranged in a complex state of tension with each other.
Personally, although I do like all art, abstract, or realistic, I feel as if suprematism leaves a little too much room to the imagination. I have noticed that in some cases, such as Malevich's: A boy with a Knapsack, it is hard to tell what exactly the artist is trying to portray. [There is a picture of A boy with a Knapsack in the slideshow.] If you look at the picture you will see that the two squares do not have any similarities to a boy with a Knapsack on his back. There are pieces such as this where I simply do not understand, but just enjoy to look at. Overall, I still enjoy suprematism in artwork.