Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris

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. Hardcover, 216 pages.