INDIVIDUALITY

One of the easiest ways to understand art is by examining the intersections between various artistic disciplines; for example, the relationship between clothing and art.

Paul Klee (1879-1940), a German and Swiss painter, straddled artistic media and styles, as well as various disciplines, including visual art, music, theory, and poetry.

In my last post influenced by Klee, it was striking to see the range of differences between the works, as well as the shared color and shape sensibility. Whether painting, drawing, writing, or music, Klee's work is relatable across media.

I personally find it most enlightening to read his poetry as a companion to his artwork.

Individuality?

is not of the substance of elements.

It is an organism, indivisibly

occupied

by elementary objects of a divergent character:

if you

were to attempt division, these parts

would die.

Myself,

for instance: an entire dramatic company.

--Paul Klee

Inspired by Klee's work, I wore a dress and hat reminiscent of his palette and favor for geometric shapes, yet reflected my personal sense of style and individuality, like all artistic interpretations.

I'm wearing a Marc by Marc Jacobs dress, Cynthia Rowley x Roxy sandals, Juicy Couture straw tote, and a straw hat by Maria Bonita Extra.

What does individuality mean to you?

[Klee images from allpaintings.org, poetry4beauty.blogspot.com, and chinaoilpainting.com, respectively.]

THE COLOR OF KLEE

Color has always been my single most important visual stimulus. For me, pattern, texture, size, and shape are all secondary to hue.

I've always felt an affinity toward artist Paul Klee for his expertise in the subject of color. Though it took him years of study to develop his color theories, it only takes one look at his work to note his skill.

This vintage poncho immediately evoked the work of Klee, both because of the color and geometric pattern.

Klee (1879-1940) was a Swiss-German expressionist painter. Although he was aligned at times with German Expressionism, Surrealism, and Cubism, he eluded categorization into any one movement.

Klee was very influenced by the work of fellow Blaue Reiter artist Wassily Kandinsky (discussed here), and the idea of comparing painting to a musical composition.

Throughout his life, Klee's main goal through his art was to pursue the understanding of color. Although he struggled with it early on, he went on to become an expert and even published books on the topic.

"Colour and I are one." --Paul Klee

After a mini-blizzard last week, I was excited to debut the cozy snow boots sent to me by Cougar. The multiple layers of knit, faux fur, and suede, make them like wearing thick socks and boots at the same time. They're guaranteed warm to -22 degrees F, but they're not too clunky to wear when it's 38 degrees (which is plenty cold enough for me).

I'm wearing a metallic vintage Guatemalan poncho, Patagonia thermal tee, Citizens of Humanity jeans, and Cougar Ravishing snow boots.

[Klee images from personal.ceu.hu, davidsandum.com, breakoutofthebox.com, and julialapin.typepad.com, respectively.]