Post 58 - En Plein Air & the Role of Spiritual guidance in Women's Art
After my plein air drawing sessions, I return to the studio. The extensive notes I made about the outside world shift inward, becoming more psychological. Each painting develops its own personality, and the white walls offer little distraction, leaving me with these self-realized forms.
See previous Blog Post 18
Visit to The Tate Modern Exhibition 2023
Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life highlights how both artists, who began their careers as landscape painters, independently "invented their own languages of abstract art rooted in nature."1 This connection between landscape traditions and abstract art echoes early sophistic theories.
In sophistic discussions, art is seen as existing within a spectrum of imagined images, from the artist's vision to the viewer's reflections, which can inspire new creations. Plato touches on this continuous cycle of reflection in the Republic (596d–605c) and Sophist (266b–266d), contrasting human-made art with natural phenomena like dreams and reflections (Plato 1993, 1997).2
Women artists like Georgiana Houghton (fig. 1) and Hilma af Klint (fig. 2) were pioneers who ventured into abstraction before it was formally recognised as an artistic movement. Both utilized spiritualism and automatism as creative techniques, which allowed them to break away from the conventional artistic norms of their time.
By attributing their work to spiritual guidance rather than personal agency, they were able to explore radical visual languages that were unconventional and ahead of their time. Their contributions highlight the often overlooked role of women in the development of abstract art, demonstrating how they challenged and expanded the boundaries of artistic expression in a male-dominated field.3
Figure 1. Georgiana Houghton: left, The Spiritual Crown of Annie Mary Howitt Watts, 1867; right, The Spiritual Crown of Mrs Oliphant, 1867 (Photographs: Victorian Spiritualists’ Union, Melbourne.)
“Spiritualism gave [women] a community … engaging with fresh forms of creativity that side-stepped male control”.4
Charles Darwent reviews Jennifer Higgie’s The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art, and the Spirit World, showing how she describes how women artists have engaged with mysticism and spiritualism. Despite initial skepticism about the term “spirit world,” the book presents a thoughtful and open-minded exploration of its subjects.5
Higgie illustrates how periods of upheaval, such as the American Civil War and the First World War, spurred interest in spiritualism. However, the rise of modernism in the early 20th century, influenced by figures like Freud and Alfred H. Barr, often dismissed these mystical elements. Barr’s influential 1936 show, Cubism and Abstract Art, notably omitted spiritual influences despite the connections some artists had with mystical ideas.6
Higgie highlights how women such as the Fox sisters and Victoria Woodhull, used spiritualism to gain visibility and influence in a male-dominated world. This contrasts with male artists, who explored similar themes but faced less career impact. 7
The book also addresses the role of artists like Piet Mondrian, who, despite his modernist reputation, was influenced by theosophy and mystical teachings from Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Mondrian’s spiritual beliefs were part of his approach to abstraction, which was often overshadowed by a focus on formalist aspects of his work.8
Higgie also examines artists like Hilma af Klint (fig. 2) and Georgiana Houghton, who incorporated spiritual themes into their art. By acknowledging their contributions, Higgie challenges the notion that modernism and spirituality were mutually exclusive, presenting a broader and more inclusive view of art history.9
Figure 2. Hilma af Klint, Untitled #1, 1915, oil on gold on canvas, private collection.
The Other Side thus reveals how spiritualism provided women artists with unique opportunities for creative expression (fig. 3).
Figure 3. Jennifer Higgie, The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World. London: Orion Publishing Co, 2023. (In Auckland City Library)
What role does the spiritual play in art today, considering we no longer live in a spiritual age?
The appeal lies in its contrast to the present age—it feels exotic. But the spiritual aspect of her (Af Klimt’s), paintings must be isolated from other interpretations to maintain its allure. Otherwise, art's elitism and complexity might overshadow the spiritual message. Now, these once-hidden paintings are being exhibited globally, claiming to reshape the history of abstract art by placing a woman, not male genius, at the forefront. 10
The problem with this line of argument is it downplays or ignores the concrete meaning of art. As a painter, you focus on getting forms just right to communicate effectively. You're prioritizing visual clarity. But today’s consumerist view of 'the spiritual' clashes with this, as it doesn't value the 'right' or 'efficient' in art. This perspective aligns with many people’s—including professionals’—increasingly non-visual understanding of art.
Art labeled as 'spiritual' doesn’t have to be non-visual or just an escape—it can be serious and visually sophisticated, as seen in artists like Paul Klee, Francis Bacon, and Peter Doig. However, critics haven't applied this perspective to Klimt’s work, possibly due to the risk of mixing modern and traditional approaches. Greenberg's clear distinction between visual and poetic elements in art could be helpful today. 11
Visual art is shaped by both the artist's knowledge and the act of creation. An artist's work reflects who they are and what they know, integrating both their skills and understanding.
An artist's work reflects their focus: abstraction has its roots in visual elements.
Mondrian, Malevich, and Kandinsky, though influenced by Theosophy, were deeply analytical about art's history. Their unique abstract styles came from this rigorous analysis, not just spiritual beliefs, despite oversimplified narratives. 12
When I consider how this relates to my own practice I would like to examine my own notes on ‘Intuitive’ Art making.
the four principles underlying creative intuition, which are:
it involves a state of expanded consciousness
it is an open, fluid way of being
it focuses on the particular, rather than the general
it is an act of fusion or identification which occurs through emotion or empathy
Footnotes
1. Frances Morris, "A New Way of Seeing," Tate Etc., January 6, 2023, https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-57-spring-2023/frances-morris-hilma-af-klint-piet-mondrian. Accessed August 11, 2024.
2. Morris, "A New Way of Seeing."
3. Clare Lapraik Guest, "Ut sophistes pictor: An Introduction to the Sophistic Contribution to Aesthetics," Humanities 12, no. 4 (2023): 58, accessed 11th August 2024, https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/4/58.
4. Jennifer Higgie, The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World (London: Orion Publishing Co, 2023).
5. Charles Darwent, "The Medium is the Message: A Sympathetic Study of the Links Between Art and Female Spirituality," TLS, April 19, 2024, accessed 11th August 2024, https://www.the-tls.co.uk/politics-society/social-cultural-studies/the-other-side-jennifer-higgie-book-review-charles-darwent/.
6. Charles Darwent, "The Medium is the Message," TLS, April 19, 2024.
7. Charles Darwent, "The Medium is the Message," TLS, April 19, 2024.
8. Charles Darwent, "The Medium is the Message," TLS, April 19, 2024.
9. Charles Darwent, "The Medium is the Message," TLS, April 19, 2024.
10. Matthew Collings, "Hilma Af Klint: ‘Interview’," Painters’ Table, accessed August 12, 2024, https://www.painters-table.com/synopsis/hilma-af-klint-interview/.
11. Collings, "Hilma Af Klint: ‘Interview’."
12. Collings, "Hilma Af Klint: ‘Interview’."
