Page 27 - Studio Internationa - March 1971

movements I have selected to discuss in
particular (Malevich, Kandinsky, Duchamp
and Mondrian) not only reveal certain pictorial
affinities with Tantra but also share a particular
concern with the metaphysical. This concern is
worth examination in view of its ostensible
parallels with Tantric philosophy.
Possibly comparable to the Indian concept
of Maya is Malevich's belief that conventional
reality is illusion; his desire to restore a
harmonious relationship between man and the
universe is parallel to the Tantric aim of uniting
microcosm and macrocosm. His Hegelian
reasoning that the universe has no purpose, his
Kantian theory that art is the only way to
liberation as it possesses the 'purpose of
purposelessness', both reflect 'Zen'
characteristics which are also common to
Tantric thought. Malevich's 'squares' and
`crosses' are formally comparable to basic Yantras
in their reduction of content, ascetic lineation
and visual clarity. His objects are in a sense
archetypal symbols, not in the least ornamental;
in themselves they are meaningless : feeling is
the significant element. This is shown by such
titles as Feeling of Mystic Will, Feeling of Mystic
Wave from Outer Space. His concern for 'the
mystery of the object in the non-objective
world' is reflected in the Minimalist reverence
for monuments: 'deliberate, static, primitivism
amidst a simultaneous electric world'.19
Whether this can be related to Tantric imagery
is doubtful. Contemporary interest in primitive
archetypes is essentially experiential and
deliberate; it is not nostalgic nor is it
unconscious. As Robert Morris said: 'The
similarity of specific forms is irrelevant. Grid
patterns show up in Magdalenian cave painting. images are totally different. the universal and the reintegration of all
Context, intention and organization focus the On another level, Duchamp's work suggests dualities. Formally, Mondrian's paintings have
differences.' an incidental link with Tantra : his work a distinctly comparable concern to Yantras: the
Duchamp's influence on the reductive demands active participation from the dynamic equilibrium of 'male' and 'female'
element in contemporary art is somewhat spectator. Like Yantras, Duchamp's objects opposites. Metaphysically, they operate on a
different. His approach is seen as conceptual require contemplation towards a sense of similar principle : 'The Laws of Creation are of a
rather than mystical and by way of inspiration enlightenment. Earthworks also demand mathematical order.'22 Mondrian's work was
of the 'idea'. This influence is illustrated by participation from the spectator but the generated by a strong inner force, which
LeWitt's comment: 'The idea is the machine essential significance lies in the process on the manifested itself in a highly self-conscious
that makes the work.' For Duchamp, the only part of the artist. This emphasis on the plastic style, still concerned with the
modern idea is criticism; in a sense, his modern experiential could be analogized with the interrelationship of the parts." This is not
metaphor for the Void or the 'deity in the essentially 'living' rite in Tantra. The Tantric comparable to Yantras, which maintained a
mandala' is criticism, in place of the absence of concept of Samsara, or eternal flux, is reflected tradition of objective, diagrammatical
idea. Octavio Paz, in his lucid thesis on in the 'constant of change' aspect symbolized by illumination of Tantric texts.
Duchamp,20 compares the Tantric image of Earthworks. It is a fundamental characteristic Kandinsky's philosophy is also akin to
Kali devouring the universe to Duchamp's of twentieth-century abstract art and was eastern speculation. He too became very
Large Glass. Paz suggests that both images epitomized earlier on in El Lissitzky's classic interested in Theosophy and more particularly
represent the unveiling of conventional reality : statement : `... The work represents a standstill in Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophical concepts.
The Bride Stripped Bare is synonymous with of Becoming and not a static end.' 21 His work and writing reflect a concern with
Kali's destruction of Maya. His hypothesis is Much of Mondrian's profoundly spiritual cosmogony which suggests comparison with
that whereas the significance of the Tantric philosophy suggests tentative links with Tantric theories. Tantra considers dimensions
myth is metaphysical, Duchamp's myth shows Tantric concepts. Inspired by the writings of of space, time, sound and light. Its texts state
that criticism is the only possible modern idea. Mime, Brouwer and Schoenemaeker, that sound activates form via vibration, so that
The volume of writing surrounding minimalist Mondrian became very interested in Indian sound is a reflex of form and form is a product of
and conceptualist work might well imply a philosophy. He read Krishnamurti throughout sound; every thought or idea originates in
somewhat desperate desire to fill the western his life and joined the Theosophical Society. sound. By creating patterns and curves,
horreur du vide with classification of a chiefly Directly influenced by Schoenemaeker's luminous sound makes the enclosure and
critical kind. However, I feel the validity of `Positive Mysticism', his work reflects the definition of space possible. All objects are
Paz's analogy is questionable; again because the belief that the 'plastic' stands for 'spiritual'. It sounds of various densities and every object is a
cultural environment and aims of the two embodies principles such as the absolutism of concentration of light in pattern—so forms
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