Yellow, Red and Blue (1925), Vassily Kandinsky
“The color is the keyboard, the eyes the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that he plays, playing one note or another, causing vibrations in the soul”. Wassily Vasilyevich Kandinsky
Kandinsky had the gift of synesthesia, that is, the ability for multisensory perception, thanks to which he was able to explore the relationship between sounds, colors and shapes, and capture music on canvas.
That very particular universe comes to life in Sounds Like Kandinsky (Sounds like Kandinsky), an initiative of Google Arts & Culture in collaboration with the Center Pompidou.
Sounds Like Kandinsky brings together the abstract artist's most iconic works, opens up some rare personal archives, and presents a machine learning experiment that allows everyone to "play a Kandinsky".
Im Grau (1919), Vassily Kandinsky
THE LESS KNOWN FACE OF THE FATHER OF MODERN ART
Many will instantly recognize some of Kandinsky's most famous works. However, the person behind is less well known.
To build Sounds Like Kandinsky, the digitization of 3,700 works, personal photographs and documents has been carried out, as memories of his childhood, vacation photos with Paul Klee or Kandinksy's workshop in Neuilly, provided by the Kandinsky collection bequeathed by Nina Kandinsky.
Thus, anyone can explore the universe of the artist's life and work from the comfort of his home: his debut in Russia, his workshop in the Parisian years, his time as a teacher at the Bauhaus...
In addition, you will discover the most interesting details of his life, such as Despite his early exposure to the arts, Kandinsky did not devote himself to painting until he was 30 years old. ; or that he founded his own painting and drawing school, also open to women.
Wassily and Nina Kandinsky in the garden, in Dessau
THE ARTIST WHO COULD SEE THE SOUND
Kandinsky is never fully understood. However, to delve a little deeper into his unique creative process we must first understand the synaesthetic capacity of the artist, also shared by other artists such as Rimbaud, Billie Eilish and Pharrell Williams.
The synesthesia It is an involuntary neurological phenomenon by which a person reacts to a sensory stimulus with another sense, in addition to the one that has been induced. That is to say, experience mixed senses. For example, seeing colors when listening to a song or perceiving flavors touching a part of the body when savoring food.
In the case of Kandinsky two senses acted at the same time: hearing and sight. The association between the two made colors and shapes translate into sounds, harmonies and vibrations, forming lines and patterns.
Bild mit rotem Fleck (Tableau à la tache rouge), 1914, Vassily Kandinsky
PLAY A KANDISNKY!
What if you could hear color? Play a Kandinsky is an interactive experiment, created in collaboration with experimental music artists Antoine Bertin and NSDOS, where you can release the "sound" of a Kandinsky.
To create this tool, The writings in which Kandinsky described his synaesthetic experiences applying machine learning were analyzed. Thus, we can discover what Kandinsky could have heard while he was painting his masterpiece. Yellow, red, blue in 1925.
This interactive adventure will invite you to click on different areas and colors of the painting, exploring the sounds and emotions associated with colors and shapes.
Also, you can create your own mix of sounds and share the result of your creation inspired by Kandinsky.
Vassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee in the garden of the Maison des maîtres, in Dessau
VIRTUAL TOUR
the section Hang a Kandinsky (Hang a Kandinsky) gives us the opportunity to visit an augmented reality exhibition and take a close look at some of the artist's most famous works.
It is true that this Pocket Gallery cannot replace the experience of attending a museum but allows you to admire the works of Kandinsky virtually, a proposal that has been implemented by many museums and art galleries to bring culture closer during the pandemic.
Wassily Kandinsky
THE EXPERTS SPEAK
The Sounds Like Kandinsky experience will also take you on a tour where you will discover how he became a modern master.
Angela Lampe, chief curator of the Center Pompidou and world expert on Kandinsky, she will guide you through various works as she discusses the painter's changing legacy.
“Kandinsky opened up the field of possibilities and set the tone for staying in his own musical world. His synaesthetic experimentation, his scenic compositions such as Yellow Sound, between abstract forms and scores, they evoke vibrations, certain types of sound and also a particular grammar, that were taken advantage of by the pioneers of abstract cinema in the 1920s, such as Viking Eggeling, Hans Richter and Walter Ruttmann”, says Angela Lampe.
The expert also affirms that Kandinsky broke dogmas and opened his eyes to diversity: “For example, he also works on the concept of kitsch. He looked at everything with the same curiosity and the same respect, ”says Lampe.
Play a Kandinsky
AN INFINITE PALETTE OF COLORS AND SOUNDS
Lovers of abstract art and Kandinsky's work in particular will lose track of time browsing through the rainbow of possibilities it offers Sounds like Kandinsky.
He explores the artist's color theories, delves into the concept of synesthesia and even he projects his masterpieces on the wall of your house.
Abstract art (and mind) have no end. Kandinsky neither.
Auf Weiss II (Sur blanc II), 1923,