Composition VIII
This piece incorporates a graphic style of shapes and colors, energetically aligned to lead the eye from the top left to the top right. The FORM which makes up the focal point of the piece is a heavy, dense, black circle which radiates and immediately draws in the eye. The LINE which pulls your eye away from the focal point is the horizontal, slanted line- almost like a mountain range- which brings your eye up into the clouds. Most LINES within the piece are aligned with this central one, and others cross and intercept this line for added interest, chaos, and create the illusion of a landscape. This landscape contains other FORMS, where half-circles create the illusion of hills or greenery.
COLOR is used to lead the eye very purposefully. The heavy black focal point is the absolute darkest value in the piece, and it almost feels like a hole in the PLANE into the ground. Its purple core draws you back up to the surface, and allows you to make connections and find direction. This weight is balanced by the bold checkerboard forms to its right and in the right corner. Additionally, the purple within the circle is thoughtfully balanced throughout the piece, as a purple circle in the lower right furthers the right-and-up line. The boldest, most alarming colors like red are used sparingly. The notable points of red are mostly in the corners, anchoring the piece firmly while letting the blues, whites and yellows sink back.
The COLOR palette of this piece has very opposing weights. The strongest, most eye catching colors like the black, red-orange, and yellow are highly saturated or high/low in value respectively. These colors pack a punch as compared to the more subdued colors that make up the majority of the piece- such as the pale blues, dusty purples, and pinks. Kandinsky places these colors next to each other to create high constrast- such as the black circle and its light pink aura.
Open FORMS and closed FORMS in this piece also form a very nice balance. On the left, such as the blue peak- the form is left open, as well as the blue being blurred into the background. This peak sinks back, allowing the leading shapes in front of it to take the spotlight. The forms in front of it, like the V-shaped checkerboard, are closed FORMS that have a lot of weight and high value colors like black. Another instance of open and closed FORMS are the half-circles. Some of the circles are closed and filled in with white, giving the illusion that they are in front of the other half-circles, which are open shapes. Not only are these open half-circles not filled with color, they also have a lighter LINE weight, making them further create the illusion of depth in this otherwise flat landscape.
Sources
Wassily Kandinsky.net
Wassily Kandinsky: the painter of sound and vision
Wassily Kandinsky: Synesthesia & Abstraction