February 24th, 2024

Happy Saturday! My apologies for those who expect editions bright and early, I had some family obligations last night and that delayed publishing. But I just got back from my Saturday morning workout, have a fresh cup of Brazilian coffee from the French press and I’m ready to rock 🤘 

It feels like I’m the last person in the world to get on the Magnific.AI bandwagon, but I finally caved and purchased a month to test it out. First impressions are the higher resolution upscales are WAY too expensive considering the 2,500 credits you start with but if you save that for the occasional special piece I can see it not being too prohibitive. That being said, it’s definitely the most impressive upscaler I’ve used since discovering Topaz years ago.

Today we’re going to take a look at the founding father of a favorite art movements of mine, Suprematism.

Artist Spotlight - Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)

Career

Kazimir Malevich, born 1879 in Kyiv, Ukraine was the first of fourteen children born to Polish parents, although only nine children survived into adulthood. Initially self-taught, Malevich later attended the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. His early work was influenced by Impressionism and Symbolism, but he quickly embraced the avant-garde movements of his time, exploring Fauvism and Cubo-Futurism.

In 1915, Malevich unveiled his new artistic philosophy, Suprematism, with the publication of his manifesto "From Cubism to Suprematism." The same year, he exhibited "Black Square" for the first time, a painting that became synonymous with the movement and abstract art's radical potential. The "0.10" exhibition in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) presented Suprematist works, fundamentally altering the course of Russian art. Malevich showed 39 works, moving completely away from representational art. His "Black Square" painting was hung in the top corner of the gallery room, a spot traditionally reserved for religious icons in Russian homes, signifying its profound symbolic significance.

The rise of the Russian Revolution initially offered new opportunities for avant-garde artists. Malevich held teaching positions and was involved in art education and museum work. However, with the rise of Stalinism and the imposition of Socialist Realism as the official state style, Malevich's work and philosophy fell out of favor. In 1930, Malevich was arrested by the Soviet secret police, and much of his later work was confiscated. He was released, but his health had deteriorated. Malevich returned to figurative painting, perhaps as a concession to the political climate, but these works often included complex geometric shapes from his Suprematist phase, hidden within the compositions.

Malevich died of cancer in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1935. In a final act of defiance and homage to his legacy, his friends placed a black square on his funeral procession. Following his death, his work was largely suppressed in the Soviet Union until the 1980s. Internationally, however, his contributions to abstract art were celebrated, influencing movements such as Minimalism and Conceptual Art. It wasn't until the fall of the Soviet Union that his significance in his homeland was fully acknowledged.

Contributions to the Art World

Malevich's most significant contribution is the creation of Suprematism around 1915. This movement was characterized by the use of simple geometric shapes, such as circles, squares, lines, and rectangles, painted in a limited range of colors. It was a radical approach that sought to break away from the natural world's representation, focusing instead on the supremacy of pure feeling and artistic sensation.

The "Black Square" (1915) is perhaps Malevich's most iconic work, representing the zero point of painting, where all representation is stripped away to leave pure, unmediated feeling. This work is considered one of the key landmarks in the development of abstract art and symbolizes a new era in the art history.

He was not only a pioneering artist but also an influential art theorist. His writings, including the manifesto "From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: The New Painterly Realism," provided a theoretical foundation for abstract art. He articulated ideas about the need for art to transcend the visual phenomena of the natural world and explore the spiritual and emotional life of humanity. His abstract principles and emphasis on the non-objective reality influenced numerous art movements, including Constructivism, the Bauhaus, Minimalism, and Conceptual Art. His ideas paved the way for artists to explore art's potential beyond representational forms, focusing on color, form, and space's intrinsic qualities.

Despite the political and social upheaval in Russia, Malevich's work had a significant international impact, especially in Europe. Exhibitions of his work in Germany and Poland in the 1920s and later in other parts of the world helped disseminate his ideas, influencing artists and movements beyond Russia's borders.

Style

Malevich broke away from the representational tradition of painting, proposing instead a form of art based on pure geometric shapes and a limited palette. This move towards pure abstraction was revolutionary, aiming to express the "supremacy of pure feeling" rather than depict the visual world.

Suprematism sought to convey the purity of emotion and spirituality through basic geometric forms, such as squares, circles, and crosses, floating freely on the canvas. This focus on simple shapes and their relational dynamics was unique, moving beyond the narrative to explore the essence of artistic expression.

While Malevich's most iconic works are characterized by their stark simplicity, his use of color in other pieces is notable for its emotional and symbolic depth. Early in his career, he experimented with vibrant colors and dynamic compositions influenced by Cubism and Futurism. In his Suprematist compositions, color serves to enhance the visual impact of geometric forms and to convey deeper meanings. The contrast between the stark black of the "Black Square" and the pure white background, for example, creates a profound spiritual and metaphysical resonance.

The compositions in his Suprematist works are dynamic and carefully balanced, with geometric forms seemingly floating in space. This sense of movement and spatial tension reflects his interest in capturing the essence of the cosmic and the infinite, a departure from the static compositions of traditional art.

What truly sets Malevich's style apart is the depth of its philosophical foundation. He viewed art as a means to transcend the material world and access higher spiritual truths. His writings articulate a vision of art as a vehicle for exploring the abstract and the immaterial, ideas that were revolutionary at the time and continue to influence artists and thinkers.

Influences and Lessons

The early 20th-century movements of Cubism and Futurism, with their emphasis on breaking down objects into geometric forms and depicting motion and dynamism, respectively, had a profound impact on Malevich. These movements encouraged him to move beyond the representation of the physical world. The broader Russian avant-garde movement, which sought to redefine art in the context of social and political upheaval, provided a fertile ground for his experiments. Artists like Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova, with their exploration of Rayonism, contributed to Malevich's interest in abstract forms.

Malevich was influenced by Eastern philosophies and mysticism, which emphasized the spiritual and the abstract. His reading of various philosophical texts contributed to his belief in the supremacy of pure feeling and the need for art to transcend material reality.

His ability to synthesize influences from various artistic movements and intellectual traditions into a unique vision teaches the value of open-mindedness and cross-pollination of ideas in fostering innovation. The radical departure from representational art to develop Suprematism underscores the importance of courage and conviction in breaking with tradition to create something truly new and revolutionary.

Style Representation

Collectors Corner - Vnderworld & Opulencis

Vnderworld - SUPERCHIEF X EMPROPS X VNDERWORLD

The second piece in my double header Collectors Corner is a piece from Opulencis, also on Emprop’s OpenMarket. I’m a sucker for anything robotic, and this monochromatic vibe is great. The description says it uses p5.JS and I’m super curious on what structure of the image is being guided here.

Opulencis - Lysergic Daydream

Last week I showed some Stable Cascade images from the code I put together with Diffusers. If you want to run it locally yourself, here is the repo:

It’s also available in Comfy with the latest release, if you’re a comfy user. Personally I like to check out new models on their own with the official pipelines to wrap my head around what the code is doing and how it’s structured. I love tweaking and sometimes the Comfy nodes don’t let you really dig into it.

Final Thoughts

I reached a big milestone recently when I was presented with my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. My daughter has been training since she was 9, and three years ago I decided it was time I hung up the competitive power lifting belt and put on a gi before she became good enough to kick my ass. Starting training was humbling, honestly. Generally speaking, as adults if something is difficult we have the choice to just not do it. But going to class day after day and subjecting yourself to voluntary strangling and joint lock attempts is on another level.

I stuck through the days of being destroyed by everyone and having my knee sprained which put me on the sidelines for 4 months. Having something difficult that you force yourself to do and become better at is rewarding and I would encourage everyone to find something like that for personal growth.

That’s me on the right. Shoutout to Photoshop generative fill for the amazing AI faces 🤣 

As always, if you enjoyed this edition I would really appreciate if you shared it. Just hit the share button below. And if you’re not following me on X yet, I’d love to follow you back.

On that note, I’ll leave you with a quote about the importance of pushing yourself when you don’t want to:

Enjoy your weekend, friend!

P.S. If you have feedback I’d love to hear it! A reply to this email goes directly to me.

Disclaimer: objkt.com links may include referral codes that provide a small commission to me at no cost to the collector; commissions are paid from objkt’s fee that they charge for each transaction.