Plakat für die erste Ausstellung der Neuen Künstlervereinigung München 1909

Curator: Wassily Kandinsky created this poster in 1909, "Plakat fur die erste Ausstellung der Neuen Kunstlervereinigung Munchen", or, "Poster for the first exhibition of the New Artists' Association Munich". Editor: The flattened shapes against that deep blue almost feel monumental despite it being a poster. And I'm drawn to those somewhat dissonant, but carefully balanced colors; it’s simple yet powerful. Curator: Indeed, the symbolic weight rests on those very color choices. Notice how Kandinsky, steeped in theosophy and a belief in the spiritual in art, employs these colors not for representation, but for their inherent emotional resonance. Red, the color of passion; blue, of spirituality. The poster's design intends to communicate something beyond the literal. Editor: I am curious about the means of production. How were these flat planes of color achieved? It’s likely a lithograph, given the context, allowing for those blocks of consistent color. This poster signals a shift – from the preciousness of individual artworks to the democratizing force of print. It was an advertisement, after all, produced and distributed for consumption. Curator: Precisely. Consider how typography also operates symbolically. The choice of font, its arrangement, further contributes to the poster’s overall message. Each element of graphic design carefully considered. It speaks volumes about their ambition to redefine artistic language and appeal to the cultural consciousness of the period. Editor: And the materiality of it connects to labor, of course. It wasn't just Kandinsky; there were printers, distributors, a whole system that needed to be in place for this call for a new artistic community to exist. Curator: And it echoes into our time, still calling us to reimagine the familiar. Editor: Absolutely, seeing beyond just the art and engaging with its construction reveals so much.