The Dynamics and Dialectics in Kandinskys Non-representational Art

Abstract

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) has been regarded as one of the pioneers and founders of abstract art. Kandinsky held inspiring and progressive thoughts and largely influenced the artistic movements over the 20th Century. Still, his aesthetics were not delivered clearly, such that it caused criticisms of his intentions and debates over different interpretations. While Kandinsky seems to present a series of dualistic distinctions of concepts, this paper argues that he is ultimately pursuing a dialectical unity and artistic creation of another world through a dynamic relationship and movement between the artist, the artwork, and the spectator. The paper analyzes primarily Kandinsky's published collected writings and letters and relates them to theories of German Idealism to demonstrate how the dilemma of dichotomies could be solved from Kandinskys standpoint.