Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint [DVD] [2020] - Art Documentary for Home Cinema & Educational Use

Whether you've seen Hilma af Klint's work in person or not, this fine documentary will give you insight into both the work & the woman. While rightly regarded as being the first modern abstract art created, even before the likes of Kandinsky, it's also part of a far older lineage, one that's not always been fully appreciated. That's the lineage of visionary/spiritual art, which expresses outwardly the inner experience of those who had had direct contact with a force, a power, indeed a vision greater than themselves.Some might explain that away as "merely subjective" or some such reductive phrase—and to those who can't see beyond that, I suppose that's all it can ever be. But to those who are open to it, such art cleanses Blake's doors of perception, giving a visual shape & form to the experience of the transcendent. And, in fact, such art is very much in the same golden vein as that of William Blake (as just one example).Hilma af Klint's life & belief as a medium is sometimes used against here, as a way of insisting that her her is not "real" art, i.e., not conforming to how & why art should be made in the first place, according to the mainstream of art historians & scholars. But is an expression of one's inner experience of the spirit or soul any less valid a reason for making art than doing so for an artist's mission statement? What matters is whether the art conveys what the artist saw & felt to others—and the art of Hilma af Klint gloriously does that in full measure.The documentary is not only an examination of the art & its sources, but an examination of how & why some art is officially Art, and some art is not. This work, being both visionary & made by a woman, was for a long time outside the pale of The Official. The film demonstrates quite convincingly why such an attitude is too narrow & hidebound to deny Hilma af Klint her rightful place in the art world.And, of course, for those who see her art directly & respond to its power, such labels & arbitrary limitations are finally beside the point anyway. This thoughtful film is a superb introduction to that art—most highly recommended!