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Explore abstract art and music inspired by artist Wassily Kandinsky
Explore abstract art and music inspired by artist Wassily Kandinsky
Student visual arts and music resource developed by The Arts Unit
Years 3 to 6 music
What will I learn?
What will I learn?
You will:
explore the concept of abstract art and the work of Wassily Kandinsky
identify shape, form and colour used in Kandinsky’s work
create abstract artworks experimenting with shape, form and colour
appreciate the work of other students inspired by Kandinsky.
Before you begin
Before you begin
Throughout his career, Kandinsky loved to explore circles. He thought of circles as a symbol of progression and renewal.
He created many artworks using circles for his inspiration.
Squares with Concentric Circles is perhaps his most famous circle artwork. We will be using this artwork as our inspiration today.
Concentric circles are circles inside other circles, getting smaller as they reach the centre point, like a bullseye target.
- Colours
Squares with Concentric Circles is one of the colour studies Kandinsky did to explore how different colours felt when combined next to other colours.
Look at his circles. Do you notice how different some colours look when next to other colours? Can you see how the red looks different when it is next to colours like yellow or orange compared to when it is next to blue and green?
Why do you think this is so?
You might want to think about the colour wheel and how colours work together.
Discuss your thoughts with other classmates or people around you.
Remember this discussion as you get ready to create your own concentric circles masterpiece.
2. Colours and emotions
2. Colours and emotions
Kandinsky was very inspired by colour. He felt that colour could express emotion even without showing any particular object or figure. Colour on its own could tell the story of his art.
Look at the emoticons and write down what colour you think of when you feel this emotion.
Compare your answers with others in your class or someone else around you. Do you have the same colours or different colours?
3. Create
3. Create
Now it is your turn to create an artwork inspired by Kandinsky's concentric circles.
Think about what colours you would like to use. Perhaps each segment will represent a feeling or a moment in your life. For example, you might use in one square 'happy' colours from when you won a football or netball game, and in another 'confusing' colours from when you were sitting a test.
It is all up to you!
Fold or draw lines to divide your paper into 6 segments.
Have your paints or pencils ready.
Paint or draw concentric circles in each segment.
Experiment with colours.
Paint a background for each of your segments.
Your masterpiece is complete!
4. Appreciate
4. Appreciate
Look at these amazing artworks created by students in NSW public schools as part of the Operation Art project.
Read their descriptions to see how they were inspired by Kandinsky's work to create their artworks.
Kandinsky circles
Riley LongCurran Public SchoolOperation Art 2019
"I used colourful papers and made different sized circles and layered them on top of each other. I'm happy with the bright colours."
Circle tree
Wiliam Bugeja Mulwala Public SchoolOperation Art 2019
"This is a circle tree inspired by artist Wassily Kandinsky."
Kandinsky tree
Caylin WilsonCamden South Public SchoolOperation Art 2016
"We were learning about Kandinsky. I painted the background with water colours and used different oil pastel colours on my tree to express different emotions."
Kandinsky kaleidoscope
Emily Marsh Hunter School of Performing ArtsOperation Art 2016
"I loved looking at Kandinsky's paintings because they were very colourful.
I tried to do a painting like that. I enjoyed blending oil pastels and making a dark watery background so the colours would stand out."
The imagination tree
Isabella GaultMount Riverview Public SchoolOperation Art 2017
"My inspiration for my art is from Kandinsky circles. I love the bright colours and enjoy reading. I have used crayons, watercolours and paper to make my artwork."
Concentric circles after Kandinsky
Cynthia NhanMacquarie Field High SchoolOperation Art 2019
"The study of Kandinsky's work evolved into an abstract painting and collage. I looked at the placement of shapes and colour. I particularly like how the shapes vary in size and overlap."
Here are more circle-inspired works of Kandinsky.
You can select them if you would like to learn more about each of these works or just appreciate them to help with your final artwork.
5. Final creation
5. Final creation
Now it is time for your final creation.
Think about all that you have learnt in this lesson about colour and using it to express emotion.
Let your creativity take flight and see what amazing work of art you can produce inspired by Kandinsky's circles.
Be sure to display your work for all to see!
Wow!
What emotive artworks you have produced.
To learn more of Kandinsky's inspirations, you can now move on to Lesson 2 – Kandinsky abstract shapes.
Third-party content attributions
Third-party content attributions
Student artworks from Operation Art, The Arts Unit media library, reproduced and communicated with permission. Provided all acknowledgements are retained, these images may be reproduced free of charge for non-commercial educational purposes within Australia only.
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