167. Title & Author: Wassily Kandinsky by Hajo Düchting (92 pages)
Genre: Nonfiction—Art History
Completed: 24 November 2010
Summary & Review:
The life and art of Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky are presented in a biographical format. Along with the text are numerous color images of Kandinsky's work, from his early years to his time at the Bauhaus and beyond.
Even though this book was only 92 pages, it was hard for me to get through. First of all, the art of Kandinsky really does nothing for me. When I encounter his work at a museum I pause and say, “Oh, there’s a Kandinsky.” Then I move on because after about three seconds of looking at it I’m bored. My wife seems to like him (she is the one who bought this book, after all), but she has always been a little more into early twentieth century modern art than me. Anyway, even if I don’t find Kandinsky’s art particularly appealing, a good analysis of it could have gone a long way. However, such an analysis was not to be found. Düchting’s text was dry and devoid of any intriguing observations about who Kandinsky was or why his art has been so important to modern and contemporary art.
Rating: 4.5
3 comments:
It's too bad this book was so bad because the I find Kandinsky's art and it's relationship to the music he created it for interesting. I like him. He's not my favorite, but I like him. I definitely appreciated his work more once I understood the whole music context. Maybe give him one more shot. Plus I like his bright, pretty colors :)
Well, I wouldn't mind owning a Kandinsky because I think all of his work would function quite well as decoration.
I agree with Marlene - I like his bright pretty colors!
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