New year, new Art Alphabet entry. I was surprised to find that K wasn’t too tricky; it seemed like it’d be a fight for every category. That said, there are a couple of overlaps, but I’m okay with that if you are. Luckily, the quality is high to make up for it.
K
1. An Artwork (kiss): The Kiss by Man Ray (1890-1976)
Fortunately there are lots of kisses in art. It’s a powerful theme denoting love or even betrayal. Of Man Ray’s rayograms, this is an early example. According to metmuseum.org, “Man Ray made his "rayographs" without a camera by placing objects-such as the thumbtacks, coil of wire, and other circular forms used here-directly on a sheet of photosensitized paper and exposing it to light.”
2. An Artist (Klimt): Kirche in Cassone by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
Were it not for the title of this 1913 painting, we might miss that church. Typically Klimt, it is buried in a busy gathering of other elements: flat, patterned, stylised. Klimt’s trees & townscapes however are just as beautiful but so different to his portraiture. He was capable of incredibly realistic painting, particularly in portraits, yet once he’d developed his singular style, he was on the path to success & artistic revolution.
3. A Movement (kitsch): Dawn by Odd Nerdrum (b. 1944)
It depends how you define movement really but Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum (noteworthy in himself…) claims it is one. “The movement incorporates the techniques of the Old Masters with narrative, romanticism, and emotionally charged imagery,” but can it truly be a “movement” if some guy just decides they should go together…?
4. A Bird (kiwi): Untitled (Kiwi & Worm) by Robert Gibbings (1889-1958)
It was one of those stories, jokes or tricks designed to catch out children’s trusting nature & thankfully I can’t remember who it was that told it. Invariably adults that do this are very pleased with themselves once the child has been tricked. The adult thinks they are very clever & the child is invariably left with feelings of resentment, humiliation & perhaps even pity. Someone had asked me what bird had the smallest beak in the world. As a child obsessed with birds, I set my mind to it with enthusiasm. After coming up with what I thought to be reasonable guesses, this person revealed that no, it was the kiwi! But how could that beak be the smallest? “Well,” they went on, smugness increasing, a bird’s beak is measured from its nostrils to the tip & the kiwi’s nostrils are on the end of its beak!” I’m not sure how this person expected me to react, but I can recall being unable to hide my withering look as well as the internal withering of positive feelings towards them. I remember thinking it was really interesting, but refused to show it. Two could play this idiot game. Couldn’t they have just told me this as an interesting fact? Couldn’t they have asked if I knew how you measure a beak? If you are an adult that does this kind of thing, stop. Just stop. There are children out there hating you & also laughing behind your back, you fool.
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5. An Animal (kangaroo): The Kongouro from New Holland by George Stubbs (1724-1806)
We remain in the Southern Hemisphere for the kangaroo. Famous for being one of the first depictions of an Australian animal in Western art, Stubbs’s 1772 painting was based on a drawing by Sydney Parkinson. Englishman Stubbs was best known for his horse paintings & it was rare for him to work from images rather than from life.
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6. An object (kettle): Polly Put the Kettle On (Artist Unknown)
The debate about whether it’s a pot, a kettle, a coffee pot, a teapot or indeed a tea POT rages in the land of the online search engine. I’m having no part in it & am pleasing myself. Decorative painted kettles which are apparently a Big Thing are not included however. I’m getting round this quagmire by going with a rhyme that reminds me of childhood.
7. A Body Part (knuckles): Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
Not only does Dürer create an evocative image (which may have been an altarpiece study or may have been little more than an advert for his master status), but he MADE THE BLUE PAPER HIMSELF. What a guy.
8. An Artform (Kinetic Art): Gota de Agua Móvil by Gyula Kosice (1924-2016)
It seems kind of pointless showing an image of this 1980 piece of kinetic art without a video (nice though it may be), so here it is:
9. A Country (Korea): Embrace by Min Joung-ki (b. 1949)
It’s another kiss, the anonymised figures reminding me more of Magritte’s than either Klimt’s or Man Ray’s. The colours provoke a somewhat claustrophobic feeling in me & the barbed wire doesn’t help. Commenting on the social state of life in South Korea, the artist uses familiar imagery whilst borrowing stylistically from “kitschy art sold in the streets of Seoul.”
10. An Artwork of Another Artist (Klimt - again): Gustav Klimt im blauen Malerkittel by Egon Schiele (1808-1879)
Any excuse for Egon Schiele!” I hear you cry. & you’re absolutely right. Includes more knuckles.
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