Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910-1930 - by Vivien Greene (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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, Frantiések Kupka and Francis Picabia while also illuminating lesser-known ones such as Mainie Jellett, Morgan Russell and Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso"--

Book Synopsis

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, Frantisek Kupka and Francis Picabia while also illuminating lesser-known ones such as Mainie Jellett, Morgan Russell and Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.

Review Quotes

'Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910-1930, ' the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's exhilarating immersion in the spark and ensuing conflagration of modern European abstraction, transforms Frank Lloyd Wright's rotunda into a carnivalesque whirl of color. Rarely has the Guggenheim's towering white void--now enlivened with tumbling, kaleidoscopic geometries and, seemingly, showered firework bursts--looked more dynamic and in sync with its art.--Lance Esplund "The Wall Street Journal"

With phenomenal connoisseurship, comprehensible categories, the inclusion of periphery artists, and [this] catalogue's diverse scholarship, Orphism is amplified, and we experience a re-enchantment and new ways of seeing old works.--Ann McCoy "Brooklyn Rail"

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.--Will Heinrich "The New York Times"

Featuring rich illustrations and thoughtful essays, this book brings an underappreciated movement back to life.-- "Artnews"

Orphists, the subject of the Guggenheim Museum's 'Harmony and Dissonance' show in New York, bundled the age's breathless dazzlement and musical jangle into kaleidoscopic canvases.--Ariella Budick "The Financial Times"

This Guggenheim blockbuster, which surveys work made between 1910 and the early '40s, proves that Orphism was less a movement than a pivotal transitional moment in Western art history.--Alex Greenberger "Artnet"

With around 100 pieces, this exhibition looks at that moment in time when the avant-garde in Paris, comprised of émigré artists from around the world, made the city the capital of modern art.--Jeanne Malle "Air Mail"