TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
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Aim Objective Research questions Scope and limitation Methodology
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1 INTRODUCTION
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1.1 Artwork
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How artworks establish relationship with the space? How art is related with space? 1.2 Conclusion 2 ARTISTS- LIFE AND WORK
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2.1 Jeram Patel
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2.2 Kazimir Malevich
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2.3 Inference
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3 ANALYSIS OF ARTWORKS
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Inference 4 CONCLUSION THROUGH DESIGN EXPLORATION
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CONCLUSION
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BIBLIOGRAPHY LIST OF FIGURES
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INTRODUCTION The thesis starts by understanding the lifestyle and different art styles used by both the artists. Further deriving parameters to analyze their artworks. Art and space have always been seen together as complementary. Space is recognized as a representational aspect of art and the art is recognized for its effect on the space. Art and space have an essential connection. The understanding of art and specified space has continuously developed. Many artists have used the principles of design in their art forms. This combination of art and space forms the basis for the study through exploring the work of famous artists such as Kazimir Malevich and Jeram Patel. Kazimir Malevich is an artist known for his paintings that create abstract geometric patterns that he called Suprematism. This term expressed the idea that color, line and shape should rule over the subject or narrative in art. Jeram Patel’s work is based on innovative styles that include abstraction through the use of floating shapes of black ink on paper or his textured use of paint, especially bold black strokes. It is nothing but a dark black patch, but there are shapes underneath. It looks like you are uncovering hidden shapes which are underneath a dark black patch. Using the parameters decoded from the analysis of the work of both the artists, exploring possibilities of designing furniture, elements/artifacts in a space through inferences drawn from the study.
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AIM
METHODOLOGY
The aim is to study the artworks and works of art of artists Jeram Patel and Kazimir Malevich in detail and the parameters of studying a painting. This research thesis will focus on relationship of art in space by studying works of two artists.
Detailed study of Jeram Patel and Kazimir Malevich’s works and their thought process
OBJECTIVE The main objective of the study is to understand the works of art of artists Jeram Patel and Kazimir Malevich in detail, both artist belong to different era, different ideology, yet draw a similarity in expression. Analyzing based on its origin and inspirations, art, colors, patterns, composition, elements. Further deriving parameters and developing sketches, diagrams, charts to analyze their artworks. Exploring possibilities of designing furniture, elements/artifacts in space through elements, parameters and inferences drawn from the study.
Studying the process of work of Jeram Patel and Kazimir Malevich Interpretation and analysis of artworks using different parameters and mediums used in each painting Interpretation of its characteristics, key elements through developing sketches, diagrams, charts Exploring possibilities of designing through elements, parameters and inferences drawn from the study
RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What are the ideologies, historiography of artists Jeram Patel and Kazimir Malevich? 2. How can be the art used as a medium to derive a language for space? 3. Can study of the artworks be used as a tool for designing furniture, space? 4. What are the parameters on the basis of which artwork or a painting can be studied? 5. How work of art establishes relationship in the space with other objects, artifacts? 6. How can this relationship be understood and studied to design space?
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS The study covers the paintings of the artists and evolution from earlier work till today. The research is limited to brief study of artworks of Jeram Patel and Kazimir Malevich and detailed analysis of one of their artworks. It is confined to the interpretation of two artists and design of furniture and elements through those interpretations into an interior space.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
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1.1 Artwork
How artworks establish relationship with the space? How art is related with space? Artwork Concept, medium, form, structure, visible, characters, viewer, essence (gist) Space Concept, material, form, structure, spatial experience (context), user, function Art is an integral part of interior design. It is closely related with interiors from ancient times. It can be an expression or application in a space. Different eras and art and design movements resulted in many styles. Example-art deco, art nouveau, minimalism, baroque, Bauhaus, etc. The furniture and elements reflect the design style inspired by its properties. Architecture, like painting, is concerned with two dimensional forms. It can tell a story and can draw in an individual with movement and spatial experience. The interrelation of art and space, help maintain a greater appreciation for art.
Fig 1.1 Stroyuschiysya dom Oil on canvas by Kazimir Malevich
Fig 1.2 Chinese ink on paper by Jeram Patel
Art is the interpretation or application of human imagination and creative abilities, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, conceptual ideas that produce works that are valued primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Regardless of their interpretation, importance or understanding, it deals with the expression of the artist’s ideas, emotions and methods and can be done in numerous forms. The form can also include arrangement, contrast, proportions, symmetry, balance, composition, shapes and colors.
Throughout early history, painting and space was related to the idea of collection and display. Then it was characterized by the value of color, pattern, composition, symmetry, balance. In addition, the size and spatial expansion of the painting allow the development of the unique relationship with the interior. The traditional work of art be it a painting, sculpture or a piece of architecture, is no longer seen as an isolated object, but viewed in context. The surrounding becomes as important as the object. It will create a dialogue and new understanding about its relationship with the space. The idea of art designing a space suggests that the design of a room can be based on a work of art, from the colors to the fabrics and finishes. It can be the focal point or it can be used in such a way that its qualities converse with the space. We are surrounded by art and use it consistently. It can hugely affect feelings and way of thinking. Looking at art provides likely to spend a few minutes experiencing and studying it. Artwork is sometimes non representative nor does it have a clearly recognizable or visible theme. Instead it forces viewers to find their own interpretations and meaning. A painting in a room can create a color blocking effect, add color to a limited area and contrast that color with the surrounding space. It not only transforms the spaces, but also has a significant impact on the atmosphere of the space. The effective way to transform a space is through the use of art that can instantly bring a space to life and add an outline.
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1.2 CONCLUSION An artwork has been an integral part of the space. Historically, it has evolved from a flat representation of form and space to a three-dimensional representation of form and space to abstraction. It relates to the space such as the shape, form, composition, size and proportions, texture, color, patterns. In addition, human perception and experience influence the existence of the artwork in the space. The implementation of concepts of art is inspired by many various art forms in different stages and design concept. Malevich emphasized on colored geometric shapes that floated on a white background, against all references to the outside world that took supremacy over the forms of nature and called it Suprematism. He understood its subject to the basic components of the language of the painting, such as line, color and brushwork. For him, the white background was infinite, whereas Jeram Patel indicated the spatial and textural variations in the works, in which black completely absorbed the colors and shapes. The images look full and empty at the same time. He used ink on paper and blowtorch method. Art communicates complex ideas and emotions. It does so because of its formal qualities, its content and context and the way we see and experience them. Formal qualities can be the structure and composition of a work of art or space. Both have a connection that connects them through their design and their individual meanings and makes them simultaneously communicative and expressive. Art is based on an object shaped to visually express a range of ideas and space is based on its usability, structure and function. Therefore, to study how artwork connects to the space, art works of Kazimir Malevich and Jeram Patel were selected for this thesis.
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Chapter 2 Artists - Life and work
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2.1 JERAM PATEL
Jeram Patel was one of several artists who transformed Indian art in the late 1950s and ‘60s by developing a new visual identity and a new method of abstraction. Jeram Patel was born in Sojitra in the Kaira district of Gujarat in 1930. Between 1950 and 55 he studied drawing and painting at the Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai and for two years until 1959 he studied printing and advertising design at the Central School of Arts and Craft in London. He received several national awards and was appointed professor and then dean of the faculty in 1976. He had also represented India at various international festivals. During the 1960s, he introduced a new medium that burnt wood with a blowtorch and engraving amorphous shapes on it, often against a monochrome background of bold colors, the method he learned in Japan and later pioneered in India. His work of the 1950s and ’60s, expresses a sense of pain that recalls European paintings of the same period by artists such as Alberto Burri and Antoni Tapies, as well as Japanese Gutai, Ku-lim Kim in South Korea and the Egyptian artist Hamed Abdalla, who also used blowtorch method for a series he created in Copenhagen in the early 1960s. His other innovative styles included abstraction with saturated, almost floating shapes of black ink on paper or his distinctive and textured use of paint, particularly bold black strokes. The bends, curves, closures and enclosures and the opaque and transparent areas of his images, create movement. Therefore, every single drawing invites us to think about it and have a dialogue with it, instead of trying to decode it. They are a state of things in themselves that we must interpret, live and experience. He makes the images real in themselves that the viewer has their own intellectual and visual perceptions and concerns about. But this does not mean that his images are absolutely free of context, violence and problems are also reflected in his works. In his works, there is nothing it’s a dark black patch, but underneath there are forms, it resembles you are uncovering hidden forms which are underneath a dark black patch.
“By burning wood, I am making an attack on it…nobody can create anything, the only thing that one can do is to destroy things. By the way of destroying or destruction I want to forget something.” ― Jeram Patel
So somewhere his entire process of life was to erase things (memories), he dealt with his memories working like that and erasing those memories. So it was dealing with his own memories, through surroundings and his life, as there are psychological interpretations, perceptions, characters and images that arise from the memories. He would just go into his world of memories, work on it and close it by putting black color on it. That was his effort in his paintings and so very lately there was color in his paintings. Earlier it was all black and monochromatic, and then there was color appearing. It would narrate a story, by presenting a essence of his experience, so that it later makes an open, experiential ending.
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INTRODUCTION
1994 Group exhibition at ‘Exhibition of 28 Contemporary Artists’, Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery, University of Victoria, USA
Artist….Jeram Patel This is a timeline of the notable events and accolades from his life
1997 Kala Ratna, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi
1930 Born at Sojitra in the Kaira district, Gujarat
2004 Had a solo exhibition at Gallery Espace, New Delhi2005 Took part in group exhibition at ‘Palette -Part II’, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi2005. Participated in ‘Manifestations III’, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
1950-1955 Studied drawing and painting at the Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai 2006 Had a solo exhibition at Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi 1957-1959 National Diploma in Design, Central School of Art and Craft, London 2006 Participated in ‘Drawing Show an Act of Art II’, Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai 1957 National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 2007 Had a solo show at Anant Art, New Delhi 1960 Silver Medal, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai 2008 Took part in ‘Baroda: A Tale of Two Cities’, (Part I), Sarjan Art Gallery, Vadodara 1967 Participated in a group exhibition at ‘Seven Painters’, London 2008 Took part in ‘Keep Drawing’, Gallery Espace, New Delhi 1968 Group exhibition at Five Contemporary Painters, Kunika Chemould Art Gallery, New Delhi 2009 Had a solo exhibition at Shridharni Gallery, New Delhi 1969 Group exhibition at Indian Painters, Kolkata 2011 He exhibited ‘Recent Works of Jeram Patel’ at The Harrington Street Arts Centre, Kolkata 1970 Group exhibition at ‘Contemporary Indian Painters’, Tehran 1973 Participated in ‘Contemporary Indian Paintings’, Renwick Gallery, Washington DC, USA 1976 Was appointed professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. University, Baroda, where he later became the dean 1976 National Award for Design, India 1979 Group exhibition at Asian Artists Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan 1980 Honored at State Lalit Kala Academy, Gujarat 1980 Honored at Fellowship, Royal Society of Arts, London 1985 Group exhibition at ‘Graphic Art in India since 1950’, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1985 Participated in the group exhibition at ‘Graphic Print Exhibition’, Festival of India, USA 1989 Invited to Participate in an International Exhibition of Artists from Europe, America and Asia during 'East West Encounter in Visual Art', Organized by Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai 1992 Ravishankar Raval Award, Government of Gujarat 1994 Emeritus Fellowship, Government of India 1994 Group exhibition at ‘Drawing ‘94’, New Delhi
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DESIGN PROCESS, WORKS In Jeram Patel's paintings, large strokes can be seen on the canvas, when viewed from a distance, it seems as if we are not experiencing a painting, but a drama. We can almost feel the idea of violence that it was aimed at, that is hidden under a calm exterior. When you look at his fearsome art, it feels like he's depicting that on canvas and wood. He treated wood like a being.
Fig 2.1 Untitled Blowtorch and enamel paint on wood 24 x 23.75”
Sometimes just a hint of color hidden beneath the monochrome shows his interest with the hidden.And this unseen thing is often not a pleasant place. He used the blowtorch as a brush on the wooden body, throughout the act it seemed as if “his hand was groping the surface of the wood with a finger of fire.” The ritual lasted more than an hour. Burnt enough, the wood, clean of its outer layer, turned into a dark beauty.
His other preferred methods included Chinese ink and crow quill. Hospital Series, one of his rare earlier works done in crow quill, includes a series of images portraying pain and mortality in graphic details such as an injected needle piercing the skin and the decay and the laceration of the skin, death, disease and despair. They were painful and sometimes even disturbing.
Fig 2.6 Untitled Ink on paper, 11.70 x 16.20”
Fig 2.2 Untitled Ink on paper, 21 x 26.25”
Fig 2.3 Untitled Wood burnt with a blowtorch, 1963
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Fig 2.5 Untitled Oil on masonite board Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, 1961
At first glance, paintings have just abstract shapes, with the color black for space and significance. A reality which cannot be seen or felt but is definitely there. Interpretation was open-ended. Our experience can allow us to relate to shapes and geometry. His blowtorch experiments are just a conversation, one that he probably wanted the people to have. He drew on paper, everything he saw around him and then he would just paint them in pieces on paper. Then he used the entire black color on it and created that cloud and then connected it through this painting.
Fig 2.4 Untitled Blowtorch & laminated wood, 23.7” x 23.7”
Fig 2.7 Untitled Blowtorch, burnt wood and paint on wood 24” x 24”
Fig 2.8 Hospital series (Crow quill & ink on handmade paper pasted on)
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TIMELINE OF JERAM PATEL’S WORK
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2.2 KAZIMIR MALEVICH
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian Avant garde artist and art theorist. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Suprematist movement and founder of the Suprematist school of abstract painting. He was born on February 23, 1878, near Kiev Governorate of Russian Empire. From 1904 to 1910 he studied at the Kiev Art School, the Stroganov School in Moscow and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where artists such as Leonid Pasternak and Konstantin Korovin taught him Impressionist and Post-Impressionist techniques of painting. He worked in various styles, quickly assimilating the movements of Impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism. Gradually, he simplified his style and developed an approach using keywords that consist of pure geometric shapes and their relationships to one another against minimal fundamentals. His Black Square (1915), a black square on white, represented the most absolute abstract pointing ever created so far and drew an uncrossable line between old and new art. He started his life as an artist painting Russian landscapes, farming and religious scenes. He lived during the First World War and the Russian Revolution. He invented an art style called Suprematism, a visual language with simple shapes and colors. He used squares, circles and rectangles and only a few colors to create his artwork. It was about seeing and feeling art in a new way. It is a very geometric style of 20th century abstract painting, developed by him. It refers to an art based on the supremacy of “pure artistic feeling” rather than the representation of objects. In his earlier paintings he presented geometric forms in a limited color palette, sometimes just black, on a white background. He later introduced a wider range of colors as well as triangles, circles and curved shapes. The white background is of the main importance in his Suprematist works. A restorer from the Conservation Center in Dusseldorf observed, “The touch of the brush is brief and irregular, heavily coated and applied in a cruciform manner.” For him the most important elements in the composition of the picture were color and texture. He believed they are the essence of the painting, but this has always been destroyed by the subject. He also stated, “Cubism, besides its constructive, architectonic and philosophic content, had various forms of surface treatment.” It was visible in his cubo-futuristic paintings, relief surfaces, enameled, rough, lacquered and matte. He used pigments with different opacity to differentiate planes as he wanted to achieve a texture differentiation with the same color.
“By “Suprematism” I mean the supremacy of pure feeling in creative art. To the Suprematist the visual phenomena of the objective world are, in themselves, meaningless; the significant thing is feeling.” ― Kazimir Malevich
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INTRODUCTION
DESIGN PROCESS, WORKS
Artist….Kazimir Malevich This is a timeline of the notable events and accolades from his life 1879 Born in the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire 1910 Studied at the Kiev Art School, the Stroganov School in Moscow and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture 1912 Developed his 'Cubo-Futuristic' style of painting. During the same year, he participated in his third exhibition in St. Petersburg and his first in Moscow 1914 He created and designed the stage set of the opera 'Victory Over the Sun'. In the same year, he exhibited his paintings in the renowned 'Salon des Independants' in Paris, France
Fig 2.9 The Black Square: the zero of form Oil on canvas, 1915
In 1913, he made his first suprematist composition, a pencil drawing of a black square on a white background. The composition is simply composed of a black square on a white background. Although the painting seems quite simple, it shows its fineness through the brushstrokes and colors under the cracked black surface. The cracks were seen due to his practice of painting on the surface of the works before they are completely dry. For him, the white area represented nothing, as the black square represented feelings that could only be gained through observation without reason. Without the use of color or shading, the square moves beyond a sense of space with its flatness. The black and white in this composition, can mean the presence from absence. By reducing painting to a simple shape, he removed all the things that art was always about (like animals, food, people, landscapes). He was interested in Eastern philosophy and used it as a base.
1915 Developed the foundations of Suprematism in his first book, 'From Cubism to Suprematism'. For the next year, he lived in an artists' cooperative in the village of Verbovka, where he produced his masterpiece 'Black Square’ 1916 His paintings were featured as part of the 'Jack of Diamonds' artists' group 1918 Malevich first exhibited his famous 'White On White' painting. In the same year, he was hired as a set decorator for the play 'Mystery Bouffe' 1919-1922 He taught as a professor at the ‘Vitebsk Practical Art School’ in Belarus 1922-1927 He taught at the ‘Leningrad Academy of Arts’. During the same time he published the book 'The World as Non-Objectivity’
Fig 2.10 Red Square (A Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions) Oil on canvas, 1915
1927-1930 He taught as a professor at the ‘Kiev State Art Institute’ and the ‘House of the Arts’ in Leningrad
Fig 2.11 Supremus No. 58 Oil on canvas, 1916
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Fig 2.12 White on white Oil on canvas, 1917 31.26” x 31.26”
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Fig 2.13 Suprematism Oil on canvas, 1915
The three levels of Suprematism were described by Malevich as black, colored and white. The Eight Red Rectangles is an example of the second, more dynamic phase in which primary colors were used. The composition is somewhat not clearly understandable, while on the one hand the rectangles can be read as floating in space, as if they were suspended on the wall, they can also be read as objects seen from above. The uneven spacing and slight tilt of the compared shapes in Eight Red Rectangles, as well as the subtly different tones of red, filled the composition with energy and enabled Malevich to experiment with his concept of infinite space. But the composition has something fascinating about the dull, almost assertive simplicity of his work. Here paintings are cleared to its most basic elements, to the simplest of all forms and colors. It is hard to imagine an artwork being so completely isolated from the outside world of everyday experience.
EARLY INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATION
Fig 2.17 Suprematist Composition 1915
Both Futurism and Cubism influenced the Suprematism in Russia. Suprematism can be seen as the logical extension of Futurism's interest in movement and Cubism's reduced forms and different perspectives. The word Suprematism was originated to describe a movement that would be superior to all art of the past and would lead to the supremacy of pure feelings and perception in the visual arts.
Fig 2.18 Suprematism Museum of Art, Krasnodar 1916
Fig 2.14 Suprematism, Self-Portrait in Two Dimensions Oil on canvas, 1915
In Malevich’s paintings, traces and inspirations of the Avant garde poetry and literary criticism can be seen. Words and art then, enabled him to create a new, strange and fresh perspective of the world. He was very interested in the rules of language. Believing that there are only fine links between words and the objects they denote and from this, it inspired him to see the possibilities of completely abstract art and led him to search for the least difficult necessary elements of art. He wanted to completely remove the real world for the viewer to look at the world instead through the mystical experience evoked by abstract art. In addition he was inspired by Russian folk art and the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was more about the cultural context.
Simple motifs such as square, circle and cross were used that connected the shape and the flat surface of the canvas. Texture was also an important quality to work with. For him, the images of the objective world were meaningless in themselves, the feeling was important. The compositions had a specific sense of depth due to the variety of shapes, sizes and angles depicted. The shapes thus appeared to be moving in space. He painted some of his subjects following Leonardo’s advice which stated that if a transparent color is placed over another, a new color is formed. There are many such examples covering red or violet areas with thin, transparent layers of black.
Fig 2.15 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
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Fig 2.16 Painterly Masses in Motion, Oil on canvas, 1915
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TIMELINE OF KAZIMIR MALEVICH’S WORK
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2.3 INFERENCE Jeram Patel’s work consisted of a dark black patch, but underneath there were forms, it resembles you are uncovering hidden forms which are underneath a dark black patch. His methods included abstraction using saturated, almost floating shapes of black ink on paper or textured use of paint, especially bold black strokes. It would narrate a story, by presenting a essence of his experience, so that it later makes an open, experiential ending. Everything he expressed was in the shades of monochrome. Very lately there was color in his paintings. There was movement in the paintings even without forms. Masses appear to haul inwards on a clear path. The images had no focal points. It is like looking at the whole surface at the same time, any part seems a possible focal point. Kazimir Malevich’s paintings consisted of squares, circles and rectangles and only a few colors. He depicted space without a perspective or up and down. He developed a curiosity in space. His connection with aviation made him see gravity as an attractive force in all directions through space. As a result, he would invert and change the direction of painting hanging at different exhibitions. He believed world is much more simple and logical. He developed a sense of movement not through brushstrokes but through the closeness and irregularity of flat shapes, which were positioned diagonally rather than along a vertical or horizontal axis. Thus the composition had a specific sense of depth. His style of painting caused confusion.
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Chapter 3 Analysis of artworks
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The parameters for the analysis are as follows:
3.1 EXPRESSIVE QUALITIES
Expressive qualities
From around 1915, Malevich introduced a completely original type of painting Suprematism, which aimed to gain pure experience only through the abstract geometric shape. A term which expressed the idea that color, line and shape should rule supreme over narrative in art. He emphasized on colored geometric shapes floating on white background. He used oil on canvas method.
Boundary Lines Circulation in space Shape Plane and space Color palette Organization of elements, forms Mass and void
He captured the painting with more indefinity, so one can have their own perception and understanding. For him the feeling was more important than the visual. The white background created a sense of floating and transcendence. As Malevich believed, white was the colour of infinity and meaningful realm of higher feelings and emotions, a pure form that was achievable only through nonobjective art. The compositions had a special sense of depth due to the variety of shapes, sizes and angles shown. The shapes thus seemed to be moving in space.
Fig 3.1 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
Texture
Jeram Patel’s work is based on innovative styles that include abstraction with floating shapes of black ink on paper or his textured use of paint, especially bold black strokes. It is just a dark black patch, but underneath there are forms, it seems you are uncovering hidden forms which are under a dark black patch. He indicated the spatial and textural variations of the works, in which the black has completely absorbed the colors and forms. The images look full and empty at the same time. He used ink on paper and blowtorch method. There has been color in his paintings lately. Before everything was black and monochrome, then color appeared. He told a story and presented an essence of his experience so that it later became open ended and experiential. It would narrate a story, by presenting a essence of his experience, so then it becomes open ended and experiential.
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Fig 3.2 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974
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3.2 BOUNDARY
3.4 CIRCULATION IN SPACE
A boundary can be line which sets the limits of a space. It has been a fundamental aspect of space and design. It defines the inside and outside whether its a space or painting.
In his early paintings, Malevich presented geometric forms in a few range of colours, sometimes just black, on a white background. The composition is a little difficult to understand, while the rectangles can be seen as floating in space. The uneven spacing and slight tilt of the shapes in Eight Red Rectangles, makes it possible to interpret the concept of infinite space. It is cleared to its most basic elements, to the simplest of all shapes and colours.
The perception of boundary in this painting is based on the free forms which come together in the composition, on the white background, which is seen as infinite. It is free flowing and does not take on any particular geometric shape.
Fig 3.6 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
Fig 3.3 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
Fig 3.4 Boundary
Fig 3.7 Circulation in space
3.3 LINES
3.5 SHAPE
A line can be defined as boundary between different colours or shapes. It can be used to guide the eye of the viewer through the painting and thus determine the composition of the painting. It can be used to convey a sense of movement, flow or activity. It can be directing lines for an artwork as well as a space. It can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, round and organic, straight and geometric.
A shape is a closed part of space created by lines or other elements of the composition. Malevich emphasises on coloured geometric shapes floating on a white background against all references to the outside world. Malevich presented geometric forms in a few range of colours, sometimes just black, on a white background. Previously, he used squares, circles and rectangles and only used a few colours to make his artwork.
In this painting, the diagonal lines are distinguishing the geometric shapes that fit in together to form the collage. Fig 3.5 Lines
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This painting by Malevich is made up of eight rectangles on the flat surface of the canvas. The composition had a special sense of depth, sizes and angles shown so that the shapes seemed to move in shape.
Fig 3.8 Shapes
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3.6 PLANE AND SPACE
3.8 BOUNDARY
A plane refers to any surface in space. In painting, the picture plane is the flat surface on which the image is created, such as paper, canvas or wood. Three dimensional figures can be represented on the plane using artistic elements to add depth and volume.
The painting has a distinct boundary that encloses the circular masses and forms the basic guiding element for the viewer.
Space encloses the volume of a structure, the parts we move through and experience. It can be created through the use of form. The space can be both positive and negative. Positive space has a mass. It refers to the space of the defined shape or figure. It is the subject of an artwork. Negative space refers to the space that exists around and between one or more shapes. Both can become difficult to distinguish in more abstract works.
The boundary is bold and different.
Fig 3.11 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974
Fig 3.9 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
Fig 3.12 Boundary
3.9 LINES
Fig 3.10 Planes and space
In this painting, there are curved lines, forming circles and uneven shapes. It is a kind of fluid form and random movement is seen.
Malevich developed an approach that consisted of pure geometric forms and their relationships to one another against a minimal background. For him, the white area represented nothingness. Shapes can be seen floating in space, as it had uneven spacing and were slightly tilted.
3.7 COLOUR PALETTE Eight Red Rectangles are used which are subtly different tones of red.
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Fig 3.13 Lines
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3.10 CIRCULATION IN SPACE
3.13 ORGANIZATION OF ELEMENTS, FORMS
Here the circulation can be seen in the form of circular masses enclosed by boundaries.
The organisation of space in art can be the composition. The use of abstract and irregular shapes can suggest several aspects within the same work. Placing a repeating element in different areas within an artwork can show the sense of movement. Compositional balance can refer to the position of the elements of art such as colour, shape, line, space, texture in relation to one another. A balanced composition appears more stable and visually appealing.
Fig 3.14 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974
With a harmonious compositional balance, the elements are arranged in such a way that no part of a work overpowers or appears heavier than any other and vice versa. Visually, pattern can be expressed through same colours or lines. The repetition of elements can create movement and can thus make artwork active and experiential. It can also be expressed through symmetry and asymmetry.
Fig 3.15 Circulation in space
3.11 SHAPE Shapes and geometric patterns are formed in the different parts and in the edges of the painting.
Fig 3.17 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
Fig 3.16 Shapes
Malevich emphasised on coloured geometric shapes floating on white background. The uneven spacing and slight tilt of the shapes and the subtly different tones of red, shows movement on the infinite plane. There is indefinity in the painting, so one can have their own perception and understanding. It also has the sense of depth due to difference in sizes of shapes, different tones of same colour, angle and the white background. It does not have any focal point, a slight change in the orientation of any shape can create focus on that part and it also can make viewer think about the same.
3.12 COLOUR PALETTE Lately there was color in Jeram Patel’s paintings. Earlier it was all black and monochromatic. Here the color in the background is used as a border.
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3.14 SOLID AND VOID Solid can be a matter of presence and void absence of it. Visually it can be closer and the space around it can be voids, both can be spatially distant. The solid elements can form a frame or references. It can be heavier in mass, as a bounded area and of darker colour, to add to its presence, whereas the void is lesser mass, an infinite extent of lighter colour. Solid can be static and through voids movement can be expressed. Voids can be seen as extracted part of anything, it could be real or abstract. Both can form a sense of sequence, composition.
Fig 3.18 Organisation of elements, forms
In Jeram Patel’s painting there is a kind of blob, a body, hence there is a strong sense of positive and negative space and there is a hint of space within that as shapes are there underneath the black color. The bends, curves, closures and enclosures and the opaque and transparent areas of the image, create movement. Therefore, the drawing invites one to think about it and experience it, instead of trying to decode it. Also variation is seen on the surface of wood, as blowtorch method is used. Because of the fluidic form, when seen from top, the painting seems to have multi directional or random movement as there is no such focal point. When viewed from side one can clearly see a topographical form with a depression and suppression in it. Also variation can be seen in the color and the texture.
Fig 3.19 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
In Malevich’s paintings there is a play of solid and void which is distributed. The white area represents nothingness, as paintings represented feelings that could only be gained through observation without reason. Without the use of color or shading, squares seem to be moving beyond a sense of space with its flatness. It seems to be floating in space. Shapes do not create any particular boundary.
Fig 3.20 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974
In Jeram Patel’s paintings there were floating shapes of black ink on paper and burnt wood with amorphous shapes on it against a monochrome background of bold colours. The sense of positive and negative space and solid and voids is there as hidden shapes that are present underneath the dark patch are visible. This unseen thing also creates depth and hint of space and can add movement and circulation to the composition of the painting.
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MATRIX OF PAINTINGS STUDIED
3.15 TEXTURE As a design element, texture includes all areas of a painting highlighted by patterns of lines, shapes, tones, and colors, it is about the way we see and touch. It can be of two types, visual or tactile. They can be of geometric pattern or representational pattern. Visible brushstrokes and varying amounts of paint create a physical texture that increases the expressiveness of a painting and draws attention to specific areas in it. A work of art can contain numerous visual textures, but it still feels smooth.
Fig 3.21 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915
For Kazimir Malevich, in addition to simple motifs such as square, circle and cross which were used to connect the shape and the flat surface of the canvas, texture was also an important quality to work with. A work of art can contain many visual textures and yet be smooth to the touch.
Fig 3.22 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974
Jeram Patel’s styles included abstraction using saturated, almost floating shapes of black ink on paper or his distinctive and textured use of paint, especially bold strokes of black. He would use the blowtorch like a brush on the body of the wood, when it had burnt enough, the wood, cleared of its outer shell looked transformed into a textured surface.
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Chapter 4 Conclusion through design exploration
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LAYOUT 1
LAYOUT 2
Fig 4.2 Layout 2
Here a sense of infinite space (representing nothingness) is there as all the walls are painted white. It can represent feelings that could be gained through observation without any pre conceived ideas. Rectangles seem to be moving beyond a sense of space, they are tilted in one direction, a slight change in the orientation of any shape can create focus on that part and it also can make viewer think about the same. The black band creates contrast and a sense of direction on the opposite side, thus helping to connect different spaces. The presence of a single furniture piece (table) can define the human scale.
Fig 4.1 Layout 1
Suprematist interior design is inspired by works of art created in the early 20th century by Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich. Here there is a blend of colour and geometry, where colour is conveyed through simple geometric images on walls, paintings, furniture and accessories. Grey colour tones, black and white with red colour accents can be a good colour combination as Malevich used a limited range of neutral colours and red colours. Here the presence of colour and forms are the key factors in creating two different spaces yet creating connection between them. Also the tilted square behind the painting shows Malevich’s interest in aviation, a sense of floating and transcendence. The red band below the painting creates contrast with the tilted forms and shapes. The light background creates infinite space for the painting, thus shapes appears to be moving in space. And it also enhances the look of the painting and gives the feeling of lightness.
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LAYOUT 3
LAYOUT 4
Fig 4.3 Layout 3
Here the simplicity and clarity is gained through the use of lines and geometric shapes. A visual language is created through simple shapes and colours (Malevich used squares, circles and rectangles and only a few colours to create his artwork). The rectangles in the painting are slightly tilted. Use of straight lines creates contrast visually, maintaining simplicity and the qualities of the style of artworks. Also the use of white coloured walls does not concise the space.
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Fig 4.4 Layout 4
Here contrast is created as the artwork burnt wood with a blowtorch is placed on white acrylic podium. The painting has a sense of drama, the idea of unpleasantness which is hidden beneath. Thus white curtains can add simplicity and calmness in the surrounding of the complex artwork. As Jeram Patel’s blow torch experiments were just a conversation he probably wanted people to have. It can be interpreted and experienced as it is against white curtains. As white and light has a sense of infinity so one can have dialogue with it instead of decoding it.
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LAYOUT 5
Fig 4.5 Layout 5
Here the painting seems to have multi directional and random movement as there is no such focal point. When viewed from side one can clearly see a topographical form with suppression and depression. Also the artwork is on wooden base. It can help to connect two spaces such as open and closed or semi open space. As there is a hint of colour hidden beneath the monochrome and abstract shapes with colour red for space and significance, similarly plain walls provides sense of openness and infinity and can help highlight the artwork along with the use of simple furniture elements. Also the ends of rugs on the floor have a sense of brush strokes, as in Jeram Patel’s paintings large strokes can be seen on the canvas when viewed from a distance.
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CONCLUSION Art has always been used by mankind to express emotions, ideas and thoughts through various means. Colors and lines make up a work of art. The effects can be felt across the architectural community, which has been heavily influenced by many art movements. It has contributed to the development of many styles of architecture, Art Nouveau, Renaissance, Bauhaus, etc. are some that were directly inspired by their original art form. Strong connection can be seen between art and space in works of many artists. The influences of the fine arts and painting were used as influences in the design of space and buildings. Through studying artist’s works in detail one can get clear insight into the thought process behind creating an artwork, methods, materials, influences and its expression. Here main focus is the spatial experience and interaction with the artworks present in the space. Also the relationship of artwork with the space and its effect on artefacts, elements and furniture. The qualities and ideas expressed by an artwork can be translated into space such as colors, geometric shapes, symmetry, organisation of composition, etc. Such design principles can be seen in the works of artists Kazimir Malevich and Jeram Patel. The main focus of Kazimir Malevich was to eliminate the idea of objects from art and working with only formal qualities, he sought to inherent beauty of art and allows the viewer to interpret it to create its own meaning.
“In my desperate attempt to free art from the burden of the object, I took refuge in the square form and exhibited a picture which consisted of nothing more than black square on a white field.” The work shown above was called Suprematism to explain “the supremacy of pure feeling in create art.” - Kazimir Malevich
Jeram Patel’s styles included abstraction with saturated, almost floating shapes of black ink on paper. He would deal with his own memories while creating an artwork. His works created in wood using a blow torch are wonderfully sculptural. The artist began working in this manner as he felt restricted by the traditional mediums of brush and canvas, and wanted to go beyond the possibilities which were offered by a one dimensional surface.
“For he is not trying to create an illusion of a thing but the thing itself, not an illusion of dimension, but dimension itself, materially, not colour as an imposition but as resident pigment in the thing itself.” - Jagdish Swaminathan
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LIST OF FIGURES Fig 1.1 Stroyuschiysya dom Oil on canvas, by Kazimir Malevich (Source : https://arthistoryproject.com/artists/kazimir-malevich/house-under-construction/) Fig 1.2 Chinese ink on paper by Jeram Patel (Source : https://www.knma.in/artist/jeram-patel) Fig 2.1 Untitled Blowtorch and enamel paint on wood 24 x 23.75” (Source : https://www.saffronart.com/artists/ jeram-patel) Fig 2.2 Untitled Ink on paper, 21 x 26.25” (Source : https://www.saffronart.com/artists/ jeram-patel) Fig 2.3 Untitled Wood burnt with a blowtorch, 1963 (Source : https://www.architecturaldigest. in/content/a-retrospective-celebrates-veteran-artist-jeram- patels-works/) Fig 2.4 Untitled Blowtorch & laminated wood, 23.7” x 23.7 (Source : https://www.knma.in/artist/jeram-patel) Fig 2.5 Untitled Oil on masonite board Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, 1961 (Source : https://postwar.hausderkunst.de/ en/artworks-artists/artists/jeram-patel) Fig 2.6 Untitled Ink on paper, 11.70 x 16.20” (Source : https://dagworld.com/artists/jeram-patel/) Fig 2.7 Untitled Blowtorch burnt wood and paint on wood 24” x 24” (Source : https://www.knma.in/artist/jeram-patel) Fig 2.8 Hospital series (Crow quill & ink on handmade paper pasted on) (Source : https://www.knma.in/artist/jeram-patel)
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Fig 2.9 The Black Square: the zero of form Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : https://www.kazimir-malevich.org/ biography.html) Fig 2.10 Red Square (A Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions) Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : https://musings-on-art.org/kazimir-malevich-1879-1935) Fig 2.11 Supremus No. 58 Oil on canvas, 1916 (Source : https://musings-on-art.org/kazimir-malevich-1879-1935) Fig 2.12 White on white Oil on canvas, 1917 31.26” x 31.26” (Source : https://www.thecollector.com/kazimir-malevich-understanding-suprematism-art/) Fig 2.13 Suprematism Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : https://chsopensource.org/kazimir-malevich-1878-1935-technical-art-examination/) Fig 2.14 Suprematism, Self-Portrait in Two Dimensions Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : https://magazine.artland.com/ art-movement-suprematism/) Fig 2.15 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : https://www.wikiart.org/en/kazimir-malevich/suprematism-with-eight-rectangles-1915) Fig 2.16 Painterly Masses in Motion Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : https://chsopensource.org/kazimir-malevich-1878-1935-technical-art-examination/) Fig 2.17 Suprematist Composition, 1915 (Source : https://in.pinterest.com/peterdecock55/kazimir-malevich-1878-1935/) Fig 2.18 Suprematism Museum of Art, Krasnodar, 1916 (Source : https://theculturetrip.com/ e u r o p e / r u s s i a / a r t i c l e s / 11 - s o v i e t - a r t ists-you-should-know/)
Fig 3.1 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/)
Fig 3.14 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974 (Source : https://auctions.pundoles.com/lots/ view/1-4TLBG/untitled)
Fig 3.2 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974 (Source : https://auctions.pundoles.com/lots/ view/1-4TLBG/untitled)
Fig 3.15 Circulation in space (Source : Author)
Fig 3.3 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/)
Fig 3.17 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/)
Fig 3.4 Boundary (Source : Author)
Fig 3.18 Organization of elements, forms (Source : Author)
Fig 3.5 Lines (Source : Author)
Fig 3.19 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/)
Fig 3.6 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/) Fig 3.7 Circulation in space (Source : Author) Fig 3.8 Shape (Source : Author) Fig 3.9 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/) Fig 3.10 Planes and space (Source : Author) Fig 3.11 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974 (Source : https://auctions.pundoles.com/lots/ view/1-4TLBG/untitled) Fig 3.12 Boundary (Source : Author) Fig 3.13 Lines (Source : Author)
Fig 3.16 Shapes (Source : Author)
Fig 3.20 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974 (Source : https://auctions.pundoles.com/lots/ view/1-4TLBG/untitled) Fig 3.21 Suprematist Composition, with 8 rectangles, Oil on canvas, 1915 (Source : http://www.kazimirmalevich.org/suprematist-painting-eight-red-rectangles/) Fig 3.22 Blow torch and pigment on wood 24” x 23.87”, 1974 (Source : https://auctions.pundoles.com/lots/ view/1-4TLBG/untitled) Fig 4.1 Layout 1 (Source : Author) Fig 4.2 Layout 2 (Source : Author) Fig 4.3 Layout 3 (Source : Author) Fig 4.4 Layout 4 (Source : Author) Fig 4.5 Layout 5 (Source : Author) 71
