Thoughts on Kandinsky and another busy abstract painter
Phrase of the week...Je suis débordée/débordé ( I’m swamped)
The French phrase..Je suis débordée translates to — I’m swamped. I’m slammed.
Je suis débordée for women, Je suis débordé for men.
I’m busy. I’m booked.
Je suis débordée. Je suis débordé.
I’m overwhelmed. I’m underwater. I’m snowed under.
The helpful Reverso.net website offers these examples — Tu sais bien que je suis débordé (You know I’m very busy.) Mais je suis débordé, tout comme vous, j’imagine. (But I’m very busy, as I imagine you are.)
I say things like this often, as do all of the people close to me. We’re slammed. We’re swamped. We’re busy. We’re booked. We’re snowed under, even on sunny days.
I’d bet that the same is true for anyone who finds this essay on Medium. It’s easy to understand why.
We have a lot of options open to us in 2023. There’s so much to read, to watch. There are so many places to see.
Many of us are fortunate to have work we enjoy and hobbies we love, in addition to trying to spend time with our families and friends. My hobbies include writing posts on Medium for free. I’m also slooooowly building up my acquaintance with French, Portuguese and Italian, while deepening my longstanding friendship with Spanish.
Yes, it might have been smarter to focus on French or Portuguese and then move onto the next language. But I decided a while ago that life is short. I’d rather chip away slowly at these languages for a long time. I may be stuck at a basic level for many years. But at least I won’t forget the little bit of these languages I have now and be forced someday to start from scratch.
I use online lessons for all three newer languages, while also reading news in French once in a while and watching instruction videos (with captions) in Portuguese.
Again, so many options for language lessons, along with home life and my freelance work and socializing and travel and reading ... Ainsi je suis débordée, tout comme vous, j’imagine (So I’m swamped, as I imagine you are as well.)
Reading about the French phrase Je suis débordée reminded me of certain paintings done by Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944) and Robert Delaunay (1885–1941). They were leaders in abstract art in the dawn of the 20th century.
They both could immerse the viewer in a scene or a feeling.
The busy abstract works of Kandinsky and Delaunay seem like announcements of the quickened pace of life in modern times.
This is just opinion. But think of how much life changed for many people in the U.S. and Europe in the early 20th century. Many people made a break from generations of rural isolation and headed for bustling cities.
In preindustrialized societies, the competition was not as fierce for most people’s attentions.
Farmers and peasants had many chores, but not as many choices for leisure. That’s not to say they didn’t have anxiety. What can be more terrifying than having to count on good weather for your food and fortune?
But it’s probably fair to say life was probably simpler in the countryside. As the population of Europe began a slow shift towards cities, there was nostalgia about traditions rooted in earlier times.
We see that in the painting below.
Around 1906, Kandinsky created this image based on Russian folklore, with a title that translate to something like Song of Volga. Kandinsky himself was of a cosmopolitan background. He’d studied law and economics in Moscow, and painting in Munich. But Russian folks art inspired him greatly.
In this painting, Kandinsky gives us a beautiful image. And he puts us in a certain place in a certain time. He lets us observe this scene on the river, the bright colors, the intricate carvings of the boats. It’s lively but orderly. We know where we are in this painting, checking out this scene, perhaps from another boat or a river bank.
Now consider where the viewer is in connection to Kandinsky’s 1914 painting “Tableau à la tache rouge (Painting with a red spot),” seen below.
France’s Centre Pompidou, which owns this painting, says “Kandinsky often spoke of his wish to enter into ‘vibration’ with the viewer, as can be seen in this maelstrom of colours.”
Kandinsky’s abstract works seem busy. Débordé.
Paintings like the one below, “Improvisation №30 (Cannons),” challenge the viewer’s eyes to keep moving.
There is no place for rest in this work. These kinds of abstract painting by Kandinsky sprung to mind as I learned the meaning of débordée.
Tu sais bien que je suis débordé (You know I’m very busy.) Mais je suis débordé, tout comme vous, j’imagine. (But I’m very busy, as I imagine you are.)
In this modern era, we are all very busy. We are often overwhelmed. We have too much to see, too much to experience at once.
Less well known than Kandinsky is Robert Delaunay, a French painter whose work also gives off vibrations.
Consider his take on the then emerging field of aviation, titled “Hommage à Blériot.” This painting honors Louis Blériot, a maker of auto parts who expanded into aircraft manufacturing. In 1909, Blériot inspired the public imagination with his flight across the English Channel.
Amid the swirling circles and aviation images is a favorite subject of Delaunay, the Eiffel Tower.
Delaunay painted the Eiffel Tower repeatedly — with imagination and movement. Lots of movement.
The Art Institute of Chicago describes the painting below as follows: “The artist infused the dynamism of modern life into this image by employing multiple viewpoints, rhythmic fragmentation of form, and strong color contrasts.”
The Eiffel Tower comes alive in these paintings. It seems more like a creature, a dynamic living thing. What do you imagine the response would be if you were to ask Delaunay’s Eiffel Tower “How are you doing?”
“Tu sais bien que je suis débordé (You know I’m very busy.)”
“Mais je suis débordé, tout comme vous, j’imagine. (But I’m very busy, as I imagine you are.)”
