Circle, with Line

Minimalism/Suprematism-inspired piece

This piece was inspired by the Suprematism movement. The biggest influence on this piece was the method of Kazimir Malevich, who started from the ultimate minimal form- the Black Square. The piece that I’ve created is probably more similar to the next step up in complexity by Malevich, the Black Square, Blue Triangle. Art was reaching a turning point in history when Suprematism was developed, and the radical idea of using art to represent forms which were not already present in the natural world opened a new door for artists. I felt that digital art could also provide the ‘zero degree’ of painting, and that the tools in programs like Photoshop were ideal for creating very flat shapes.

 

 

theartstory.org describes one of the key tenets of suprematism:

The Suprematists’ interest in abstraction was fired by a search for the ‘zero degree’ of painting, the point beyond which the medium could not go without ceasing to be art. This encouraged the use of very simple motifs, since they best articulated the shape and flat surface of the canvases on which they were painted. (Ultimately, the square, circle, and cross became the group’s favorite motifs.) It also encouraged many Suprematists to emphasize the surface texture of the paint on canvas, this texture being another essential quality of the medium of painting.

 

 

Citations:

Kazimir Malevich. Black Square. around 1923. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/LESSING_ART_10310751034

Kazimir Malevich. Black Square, Blue Triangle. 1915. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/LESSING_ART_10310751420

Malevich, Kazimir Severinovich, 1878-1935. Suprematist Painting: Black Trapezoid and Red Square. 1915. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822000869410

The Art Story Contributors “Suprematism Movement Overview and Analysis”. [Internet]. 2019. TheArtStory.org Content compiled and written by The Art Story Contributors, https://www.theartstory.org/movement-suprematism.htm First published on 21 Jan 2012. Updated and modified regularly. [Accessed 24 Mar 2019]