Description:
abstract, geometric shapes, one resembling fact in profile looking at moon in lower left corner, with another moon-like shape with halos around it, several arcs, rectangles, triangles and a line of small circles, on dotted background
Label Text:
Emil Bisttram claimed that his exposure to the Native
American art of New Mexico, where he settled in the 1930s, “led him to abstraction.” A deeply spiritual artist, he embraced the idea that abstract painting was a way to transcend reality and reveal the spiritual. In 1938, he joined with other artists who shared this perspective to found the Transcendental Painting Group, which championed abstract art.
Moon Magic dates to the height of the artist’s career and is typical of the carefully composed, lively geometric images for which he became celebrated. The subject of celestial spaces and planetary forces was a theme the artist returned to repeatedly. The title, Moon Magic, underscores his portrayal of the heavens as both a scientific and a mystical realm.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+2013.30.1 |
