by William Harris

“Color cannot stand alone; it cannot dispense with boundaries of some kind. A never-ending extent of red can only be seen in the mind; when the word red is heard, the color is evoked without definite boundaries. If such are necessary they have deliberately to be imagined. But such red, as is seen by the mind and not by the eye, exercises at once a definite and indefinite impression on the soul, and produces spiritual harmony.”
Wassily Kandinsky, Concerning The Spiritual In Art.

Figurative painters intuitively understand color can’t stand alone, because their mind and eye are at harmony while they work — they have to be in order to depict a semblance of reality. Whether the non-figurative painter simply wishes to express emotion, pursue a more simplified expression, or simply have color be their subject, the figurative painter understands the inherit limitations of color being or speaking the language. Language needs structure. The structure for a painter is line, and line is a must for the figurative artist.

In producing spiritual harmony, Kandinsky emphasizes seeing color with the mind over the eye. Since the figurative painter doesn’t limit him/herself to expressing or being led by emotion, aren’t they closer to producing spiritual harmony? If the non-figurative painter pursues a more simplified/singular expression, doesn’t he/she minimizes his/her ability to project anything within the mind except bands of color? If figurative painters don’t reduce their work to emotional expression and minimize their efforts towards a single expression, don’t they stand on solid ground to produce a fuller expression of spiritual harmony?