Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930
Edited by Vivien Greene. Text by Matthew Affron, Nell Andrew, Tracey Bashkoff, Gurminder K. Bhogal, Masha Chlenova, Riann Coulter, Elizabeth Everton, Megan Fontanella, Caitlin Glosser, David Max Horowitz, Bellara Huang, Joana Cunha Leal, Michael Leja, Anna Liesching, Chitra Ramalingam, Effie Rentzou, Rachel Silveri.
The first publication of its kind, connecting a constellation of artists working at the forefront of abstraction in the early 20th century
Orphism emerged among a cosmopolitan group of artists active in Paris in the early 1910s, as the innovations of modern life radically altered conceptions of time and space. Engaged with ideas of simultaneity in kaleidoscopic compositions, these artists investigated the transformative possibilities of color, form and motion. Often featuring disks of brilliant color, their work evoked multisensory experiences. When pushed to its limits, Orphism signaled total abstraction. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire, a contemporary, coined the term “Orphism” to describe this move away from Cubism, toward a physically and spiritually transcendent art. His concept referred back to the Greek mythological poet and lyre player Orpheus, whose music thwarted death. The first in-depth examination of the Orphist avant-garde, this revelatory exhibition catalog contextualizes Orphism, tracing its roots, exploring its cross-disciplinary reach and considering its transnational reverberations across 16 illustrated texts by a multigenerational group of authors from different fields. Incisive essays offer new perspectives, delineating Orphism’s connection to music, dance and poetry, and investigating the historical and cultural circumstances that shaped its ethos. More than 90 artworks in multiple mediums are punctuated by micro-narratives that view select artists through the Orphist lens, presenting original scholarship on well-known figures such as Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, František Kupka and Francis Picabia while also illuminating lesser-known ones such as Mainie Jellett, Morgan Russell and Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.
Mainie Jellett, "Painting" (1938), 'Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New York Times
Will Heinrich
Between cubism and full-blown abstraction came Orphism, a colorful, almost musical style of painting pioneered by Robert and Sonia Delaunay and named by the poet Guillaume Apollinaire after an ancient Greek mystery religion. This show of more than 80 paintings, sculptures and works on paper brings the music to all five levels of the Guggenheim.
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Science, technology, artistic freedom! Ah, the optimism and unfettered exploration of the Belle Époque. Then: the First World War, followed by the devastation of the 1918 influenza epidemic. In November 2024, the Guggenheim Museum opens Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930, the first in-depth examination of this avant-garde movement whose name, borrowed from the Greek poet-hero Orpheus, was coined in 1912 by French literary giant Guillaume Apollinaire. “‘Orphism’ referred to the kaleidoscopic and dynamic paintings produced by a constellation of transnational artists exploring the boundaries of representation to convey their experiences of modern life,” Guggenheim senior curator Tracey Bashkoff writes. “Artists connected to Orphism engaged with ideas of simultaneity—which they equated with modernity—creating compositions that often capture motion, encompass disks of vibrant color, and evoke multisensory responses. Situated among vanguard movements of the period such as Cubism and Futurism, Orphism pushed further into modes of abstract expression, whereas these other idioms remained invested in figurative content. … To invoke [František] Kupka, Orphism is an amorphous concept. Apollinaire invented the term to describe an abstracted pictorial idiom, but he did so by specifically conjuring the ultimate bard, the mythological Orpheus. In doing so, he productively allied painting, poetry and music with one another—and with modernity itself.” Featured spreads show work by František Kupka, Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Gino Severini and Mainie Jellett. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.25 x 11.5 in. / 216 pgs / 132 color / 6 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $65.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $95 GBP £52.00 ISBN: 9780892075645 PUBLISHER: Guggenheim Museum Publications AVAILABLE: 12/10/2024 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD
Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930
Published by Guggenheim Museum Publications. Edited by Vivien Greene. Text by Matthew Affron, Nell Andrew, Tracey Bashkoff, Gurminder K. Bhogal, Masha Chlenova, Riann Coulter, Elizabeth Everton, Megan Fontanella, Caitlin Glosser, David Max Horowitz, Bellara Huang, Joana Cunha Leal, Michael Leja, Anna Liesching, Chitra Ramalingam, Effie Rentzou, Rachel Silveri.
The first publication of its kind, connecting a constellation of artists working at the forefront of abstraction in the early 20th century
Orphism emerged among a cosmopolitan group of artists active in Paris in the early 1910s, as the innovations of modern life radically altered conceptions of time and space. Engaged with ideas of simultaneity in kaleidoscopic compositions, these artists investigated the transformative possibilities of color, form and motion. Often featuring disks of brilliant color, their work evoked multisensory experiences. When pushed to its limits, Orphism signaled total abstraction. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire, a contemporary, coined the term “Orphism” to describe this move away from Cubism, toward a physically and spiritually transcendent art. His concept referred back to the Greek mythological poet and lyre player Orpheus, whose music thwarted death.
The first in-depth examination of the Orphist avant-garde, this revelatory exhibition catalog contextualizes Orphism, tracing its roots, exploring its cross-disciplinary reach and considering its transnational reverberations across 16 illustrated texts by a multigenerational group of authors from different fields. Incisive essays offer new perspectives, delineating Orphism’s connection to music, dance and poetry, and investigating the historical and cultural circumstances that shaped its ethos. More than 90 artworks in multiple mediums are punctuated by micro-narratives that view select artists through the Orphist lens, presenting original scholarship on well-known figures such as Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, František Kupka and Francis Picabia while also illuminating lesser-known ones such as Mainie Jellett, Morgan Russell and Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.
