Wassily Kandinsky

I am reading a biography about Georgia O'Keeffe, and in it I am learning about other artists. My thirst for more is intense, and I am always finding something that I can cull from my reading. I wonder how spontaneous the universe is, and yet it supplies me with the necessary food that I need to sustain my healthy enthusiasm for art, and collage as a medium.
I was exposed to Wassily Kandinsky and his ideas of abstraction. I was completely enthralled with this work, "Composition IX", 1936. It is collage-like in its form. I could easily imagine different textures and papers composing this work, instead of painting.

Now, I must get personal, this is a blog, not an info center. I was a bit depressed to think of the flatness that must exist in this painting! I feel something sensory as I paste the layers of papers together in my work. I like the visceral and primal feel of rubbing my fingers across the surface and finding that it is not really flat...but multi layered and therefore so much more illusionary. I know that painting skills are important and being able to create reality or quasi-reality is something revered. I, however, crave the textured feeling that the layers create...somehow as tho accidently, in this place and time, these paper units have arrived into these new positions next to each other. and now, together they make an entirely new statement that is somewhat dada in it's formation, yet compositional in the end with somewhat of a story to tell. It is so difficult with words to express what is so simply done with visuals....

I know it is ballsy to comment on a modern master. Certainly that is not my intent! I mentioned that I was completely taken with the painting and love it for various reason. But somehow, the collage artist in me feels as tho a piece like this would be even more interesting with a bit of depth! It is my personal thing, and in no way am I dissing Kandinsky. Quite the contrary, I plan to locate his book and read more about his thoughts on art. Meanwhile, somehow this just confirms that in my inner art heart, there are many layers!