Sounds by Wassily Kandinsky

Sounds Reviews

• 
  Jon Nakapalau

  This is a very abstract work; the paintings and poems are used to evoke the 'trespassing of conceptual boundaries' - as such it is more incantatory than substantive - feelings associated with assonance are used to create the free association that children often manifest when trying to describe intense feelings. Defiantly not for everyone - but give it a try!
• 
  João

  56 woodcuts dance with 38 poems - recursive patterns melt into childlike forms in a very abstract livre d'artiste. This edition is quite impressive, it contains the translations as well as the original poems, a nice introduction with many notes, a chronology of Kandinsky's life and a bibliography to all of his published poetry. Waves get sharp, words are material for collages, colors are portals to memories.
  
  
• 
  Gastjäle

  Kandinsky's poems are strange. They zoom in on generic things, described in terms of generic colours and generic shapes. Words that evoke instant images, yet ultimately tell nothing. But, paradoxically, the reader slows down in order to inspect even the most common-or-garden varieties, finds everything and nothing, and treads with incredulous care among the treacherous simplicity. What's even stranger is that though the words are generic, they evoke the essentials of perception, and in fact turn out to be more eloquent than overall descriptors such as "forest", "urban", "morning traffic" etc. Because, when you think about it, those words express even less, because they require more and more of the reader's mental image stock, disburdening the author of his quintessential work!
  
  The strangeness doesn't end there. The effect is amplified by skewed logic, disrupted narrative, out-of-whack focus, hypnotic, phonetising repetition and ostensible lack of feeling. Because the building blocks are of such normal variety, every little addition bursts into the reader's imagination with violent vividness. And fades quickly, when the bewilderment claims the throne. Kandinsky's poems are strange. And fleeting.
  
  His poems are strange also because they seem to be of nothing in particular. Strange things come to pass and are passed with a post-modern shrug. It's no use trying to insert any interpretive paradigms here, for they would suck the strange things wan and dry. Colourless and soundless. And not strange.
  
  Kandinsky's pictures are also strange. They are even more fleeting than the poems. The shapes are apparently simple, yet they are not so geometrically. They appear haphazard, even childish, yet slowly they enfold their protean power and entrance the watcher. Strange shapes, colours, widths, sizes and figures, always battling against representation. Recurring motifs, like riders, horses, mythological creatures and Christian symbols instill a rich, spiritual atmosphere on all, and the more abstruse of the woodcuts absorb all from their effortless depictions - a constant coordination of chaos and order. What's even stranger is that the pictures accompanying the poems don't seem to have anything in common with them - yet when the poems go by, you are left thinking: "Is that shape familiar? Why?"
  
  In the midst of my confusion, where ideas flit by without leaving concrete traces, I cannot bring myself to rate something like this. I learnt something, but I cannot put it into words. It went deeper than concepts, and this review is but a pitiful, fading stain, indicative of tumultuous stream of mental afflatus that might never surface.
  
  But words appear fresh. They taste better in my lips. And patterns emerge in the dark, willfully faded in the blinding light.
• 
  Djll

  One of my all-time favorite 'beyond-category' books. Kandinsky's synaesthetic gallery of poems and images cries out for the music to hold it all together. (He was great friends with Schoenberg.)
  
  This is a great book to read out loud while other persons are making sounds.
• 
  George Orton

  loved this sm. 10/10 would appreciate recommendations for more books that combine poetry with visual art! ! kandinsky was a very cool guy x
• 
  Elif

  Ağır yeryüzünü ağır küreklerle arabalara yüklediler. Doldu arabalar, ağırdılar. Adamlar atlara bağırdılar. Kırbaçları şaklattılar adamlar. Ağır yeryüzünü ağır arabalarla ağır ağır çekti atlar.
  .
  Kitapçıda görüp ilgimi çektiği için edindiğim kitaplardandı Sesler. Bu yıl kendime hedef olarak her gün en az 1 şiir okumayı koymuştum ve Sesler bu hedef doğrultusunda okuduğum şiir kitaplarından oldu. Düzyazı şiirler olarak yazılmış ve çoğu sayfada Kandinsky’nin çizimleri yer alıyor. Açıkçası hiçbir şekilde benim beğenime uygun şiirler değildi. Sadece 1 şiiri beğendim. Elbette çeviri olmasından da kaynaklı bir okura ulaşamama sorunu yaşamış olabilirim ama tarz olarak bana uzaktı. Yine de farklı bir okuma tecrübesi oldu diyebilirim.
• 
  J Earl

  Sounds by Wassily Kandinsky is a reissue of a classic in art history and theory, particularly with regard to abstract art. It also speaks directly to the interplay between different art forms, in this case, poetry and painting (or woodcuts).
  
  This translation is very good. Poetry, especially poetry that plays with words and sounds, can be very difficult to translate. There is no perfect translation but this one does, I think, capture the essence of what each poem is doing, both individually and in concert with the other poems and the images.
  
  From previous experience with an earlier edition of this book I would say that this will appeal to a wide range of readers but within each type of reader there will be a wide range of opinions. I'll try to explain what I mean. Among artists and those interested in art history and theory, many will find this both an inspiring and an eyeopening book. It is this group for whom the book is probably most valuable since it is one of the few cases where the text and the images are the work of the same person. As a transitional work into abstract art, this speaks to both the what and the why behind it. That said, I have known people in this group who simply don't find much of value here. They are in the minority but enough to be worth mentioning. That said, they do grudgingly accept that it is still an essential work for what it does. Among the group of people who simply enjoy art, even those who like Kandinsky, this book is often hit or miss. Between the wordplay and the woodcuts that represent Kandinsky's own transitional period the book sometimes just doesn't appeal to what the person wants. Again, I have found these to be in the minority but significant enough to mention. In other words, like anything that is new (at the time) and tries to straddle lines (of art forms in this case) it won't speak to everyone.
  
  Having said all that, I think this edition will have fewer people who don't find a way into it. That will largely be because of an excellent introduction from Elizabeth R Napier, the translator. She helps the reader to connect both what is happening within each poem as well as how that relates to the artwork. This provides many more avenues into the work, especially for those of us who are not well-versed in the theory of art or poetry.
  
  All in all I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in art, especially abstract art. This will also interest anyone who enjoys the borderland between various art forms. While this speaks primarily to poetry and painting with a nod to music the way of thinking and approaching the border can apply to other such borders. And make no mistake, these are open borders with every side benefiting from the exchange.
  
  Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
• 
  April Gray

  I'll be honest, this book isn't really my thing. I liked the art, the woodblocks were cool, but the "sound poems" didn't do it for me. However, this edition is well put together and looks great, and there will definitely be readers who will enjoy this. I don't think it's right for me to rate this lower because I wasn't into it, when it's obviously well done, and is an important book in art history. If you dig abstract art and art theory, and especially if you like Kandinsky, this is the book for you!
  
  #Sounds #NetGalley
• 
  Osman Tümay

  Neyse ki ince bir kitaptı.
• 
  Michelle

  ***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
  
  I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this book and I wasn't too thrilled. I don't think Kandinsky is really my kind of artist. I appreciate his work, but didn't get much from this book.
• 
  Lee Barry

  The cryptic musings of a synesthete.
• 
  Kerfe

  Kandinsky's book of poems and prosepoems with mostly abstract woodcuts was first published in 1912. Amazing how he anticipated Dada in its juxtaposition of random, yet somehow connected, words and thoughts. In this edition the woodcuts are produced in black and white, which is actually quite effective as an accompaniment for the verse. I had never really considered the possibilities of a free abstraction in woodcut, but I like what Kandinsky does with it.
  
  I understand there is a new edition with the original colored woodcuts, but the library doesn't seem to have it yet. I'll look for it though, if only to see how it changes the relationship of the visuals to the words.
  
  If wordplay and the accidental art of the dadaists interests you, check "Sounds" out. It's full of ideas, both in looking and listening.
• 
  Stephen

  I absolutely loved the imagery of these words. Simply in vocabulary, simple in form; complex in depth and degree. May be read in a variety of ways. Words that bring back dreams, without real logic to them- yet still so solidly relative and relational.
• 
  Anna

  I have at least glanced through this but would like to again and actually read it.
• 
  Greg Bem

  I felt the wood flood my insides with a range of abstraction
• 
  Peter

  Love his art, did not find “concerning the spiritual in art” super compelling, was blown away by his poetry. It informs his paintings which is super cool