Linda's borrowed Klimt Cells

    The CELL challenge brought up thoughts of incarceration, bee hives (I paint in encaustic), nun and priest cells (a lone painter’s studio), the smallest unit of life that divides and multiplies (for me the first patch in a quilt). But I saw a movie on Netflix about Gustav Klimt with his viewing scientist’s slides of cells at salons in Vienna. These images from slides appeared in his paintings as a kaleidoscope of spirals, flowers, and geometric shapes, along with the symbols of birth and death. I chose to copy his well-known tree of life to illustrate the great fun I had with this challenging topic, the CELL, revisiting Klimt!

12" x 12" quilt atop background fabric

      I read books on Klimt’s life and works. I felt emotionally and physically drawn to the paintings which before this Cell Challenge left me cold. In fin-de-siecle Vienna, Austria, these paintings were revolutionary. The odd, exaggerated and distorted evoke emotion. Nerve cells in viewer brains respond strongly. Slowly people recognize the use of biological images (germ cell and ovum, pollen and pistil, bird) to symbolize creation, life sex, and death in Klimt’s work.

        Back then, there was a high level of integration between science and the arts. “Just as the language of embryology (symmetry, formation, rhythm, choreography) was largely borrowed from artistic discourse, science once gave artists metaphorical bulbs from which to blossom.” CultureLab: Gustav Klimt's mysterious embryos (Amy Maxmen’s quoting Scott Gilbert of Swarthmore)

          In expression, Klimt’s sensitive use of space was often two dimensional, patterned, with outlines clear and sumptuously curvilinear. His masterpieces anticipated the use of multi-media of our time with plaster, gesso, gold leaf, paint and mosaics.They are rich in the use of CELLS!  I used Lumiere fabric paints, Rub a Dub Sharpie laundry pen, with black and white fabrics referencing the architecture/fabrics of the Secessionists. (see Drawing Time, June 29, 2013 for my techniques).  Also, check out The Age Of Insight - Wired Science for the importance of art and science to each other.