Klee’s perception of the world as some kind of a model, an illusion of something behind it

Klee’s perception of the world as some kind of a model, an illusion of something behind it

Was he foreseeing today’s very popular hypothesis of Universe as a Simulator?

Paul Klee, was one of the most prolific artists of his time, he made some 10.000 pieces which was surpassed in numbers only by Picasso.  He would also often work on many pieces simultanously, allowing the process of creation to mature. His famous line

“Art does not reproduce the visible; it makes visible.”

summarizes his highly spiritual attitude to the outer world, treating it only as a glimpse of something behind it. Isn’t this what the hypothesis of the universe as a simulator is up to a point? He decided to negate or see through the illusion of the outer reality, the prime example of this was his service in the military when he claimed that he has nothing to do with this war and he used to spend maximum of his free time painting while the war was raging him.

Nocturnal Festivity, 1921

Exploring Paul Klee in his own words

To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.

Everything vanishes around me, and works are born as if out of the void. Ripe, graphic fruits fall off. My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will.

Senecio 1922

Rosie Rockel presents an introduction to the Tate Modern's new exhibition, Paul Klee

Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.
The art of mastering life is the prerequisite for all further forms of expression, whether they are paintings, sculptures, tragedies, or musical compositions.

Angelus Novus was used as an inspiration by German philosopher Walter Benjamin, who was also the owner of the piece. His “Theses on the Philosophy of History” recognizes the angel as a representative of the history.

During his 1929 travels through Egypt, Klee developed a sense of connection to the land, described by art historian Olivier Berggruen as a mystical feeling: “In the desert, the sun’s intense rays seemed to envelop all living things, and at night, the movement of the stars felt even more palpable. In the architecture of the ancient funerary moments Klee discovered a sense of proportion and measure in which human beings appeared to establish a convincing relationship with the immensity of the landscape; furthermore, he was drawn to the esoteric numerology that governed the way in which these monuments had been built.”[81] In 1933, the last year in Germany, he created a range of paintings and drawings; the catalogue raisonné comprised 482 works. The self-portrait in the same year – with the programmatic title von der Liste gestrichen (removed from the list) – provides information about his feeling after losing professorship. The abstract portrait was painted in dark colors and shows closed eyes and compressed lips, while on the back part of his head there is a large “X”, symbolizing that his art was no longer valued in Germany. Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Klee

3,900 Pages of Paul Klee’s Personal Notebooks Are Now Online, Presenting His Bauhaus Teachings (1921-1931)

Click on this link to learn more and dive into this wealth of information and insight into the artist’s mind.

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