Standing 1930

Editor: This is "Standing" by Wassily Kandinsky, painted in 1930. It’s an explosion of shapes and colours, but there's a structure within the chaos. What draws my eye is how the geometric forms seem to float within that field of blue. What do you see in this piece, particularly concerning the symbolism at play? Curator: The prevalence of geometric forms certainly catches the eye. Notice how the triangles, for example, repeatedly point upwards – almost like simplified mountain peaks, recurring through civilizations and holding echoes of striving and aspiration, perhaps reaching towards spiritual enlightenment. They hold a totemic energy, don't you think? Editor: Absolutely. They evoke a sense of ambition, perhaps even reaching for some unknown, higher state. And that singular circle at the top? It dominates the composition, doesn't it? Curator: The circle, or the orb, a classical symbol for unity, wholeness, completion. Considering Kandinsky's Russian Orthodox background, might that circle not also act as a halo, implicitly imbuing the surrounding geometry with sacred meaning, re-framing the way we interact with it? What feelings does that possibility bring to you? Editor: That adds another layer. It turns this abstract work into a landscape of faith. It makes you wonder, were viewers at the time aware of those allusions? Curator: Undoubtedly, the potency of these visual symbols resonated within the collective unconscious. Art provides a mirror for cultural memory, offering continuity even amidst rapid social and political changes, something I feel that Kandinsky taps into rather deeply. Editor: I now appreciate the depth behind the seemingly simple forms; Kandinsky's symbolic vocabulary really elevates the work beyond pure abstraction. Curator: Indeed, visual symbols have an enormous emotional, cultural, and psychological impact. And the study of them only opens a door to deeper meaning within works like these, giving clues about who we are, and the values and knowledge that we hold within us.