Weisser Klang 1908

"Weisser Klang," or "White Sound," is a painting by Wassily Kandinsky, and the title gives you a clue about how he saw the connection between color and music. Look at the top right; see that floating white form? It’s like a musical note hanging in the air. The scene is a riot of color, laid down in these juicy, visible marks. It’s so process-oriented, Kandinsky's letting us in on how he built this world, dab by dab. I love the way he uses pink and yellow to create flesh tones, and how those colors vibrate against the dark blues and greens of the landscape. Notice the figure on the right; their form is barely defined, almost dissolving into the background. It’s like the figures are part of the landscape, and the landscape is part of the music. You might look at his later work and see how these forms eventually dissolve into pure abstraction. To me, Kandinsky speaks to how art doesn't need to be literal; it can be a feeling, a rhythm, a sound.