Vasily Kandinsky, non-objective art, and the interdisciplinary

nature of visual art

What is abstract art?• This is an example of abstract art.• What do you think abstract means?

Abstract Art

• Abstract artists felt that paintings did not have to show only things that were recognizable. In their paintings they did not try to show people, animals, or places exactly as they appeared in the real world.

• They mainly used color and shape in their paintings to show emotions. Some Abstract art is also called Non-objective art. In non-objective art, you do not see specific objects. It is not painted to look like something specific.

Which artwork is abstract?

Which work is abstract?

All of these artworks are abstract. What makes them alike?

But, wait. What is non-objective art?

• Non-objective artists use color and shape in their paintings to show emotions. Some Abstract art is also called Non-objective art.

• In non-objective art, you do not see specific objects. It is not painted to look like something specific.

All of these artworks are abstract. But, which one(s) of them are non-objective?

Vasily Kandinsky was born on December 16th 1866 in Russia.

Kandinsky was very inspired by music. He liked to draw what he heard.

He produced some very famous abstract, non-objective work.

Who knows what non-objective means?

Here is what Kandinksy’s artwork looks like.

Composition VIII, 1923

Yellow, Red, Blue, 1925

Kandinsky was a non-objective artist.

What does drawing what you hear look like?

Kandinsky’s liked many kinds of music. He especially liked a musician named Tschaikovsky.

He listened to Tschaikovsky while he painted.

Sketchbook Activity

• Listen to Tschaikovsky for 3 minutes.

• In your sketchbook draw a non-objective artwork that looks like what you HEAR.

Sketchbook Activity

• Draw 4 boxes on a page in your sketchbook.

• As different types of music are played, draw a different non-objective artwork in each box.

TO-DO1. Finish coloring in marker2. Fold 2 x’s 1 way and then 2 x’s the other

way3. Cut out 16 rectangles4. Get a new sheet of white paper5. Re-arrange the 16 rectangles and glue

down6. Use a black permanent marker to create

a new design on top of your whole piece7. OPTIONAL: Use watercolor paint (back

counter) to add more color