Kay Sage From Another Approach

Kay Sage From Another Approach

My room has two doors

and one window.

One door is red and the other is gray.

I cannot open the red door;

the grey door does not interest me.

Having no choice,

I shall lock them both

and look out of the window.

-Kay Sage

The work of Kay Sage (1898-1963) is known to be some of the most abstract art produced during the Surrealism movement. (Chadwick, 1997) Although it does not appear at first glance to be anywhere near as abstract as other Modernist artists such as Sonia Delaunay or Liubov Popova, (Chadwick, 1997. Pg 263 & 267) it has a kind of dreamlike quality about it that transports the viewer to another world.

Kay Sage’s From Another Approach (1944) is one of her early works from when she was starting to experiment in Surrealism. Unfortunately, my search did not turn up any criticisms on that particular piece, so I will use criticisms from other similar pieces from the same time period as From Another Approach, 1940 1954.(Suther, 1997. Pg 89-159)

Modernist paintings are many times described as being universal because ‘they’re just a bunch of pretty shapes and colors and everyone likes pretty shapes and colors.’ What most people don’t realize is that Modernist art conveys a sense of otherworldly reality through the ‘pretty shapes and colors.’

At first glance, From Another Approach seems to fit in with the Modernism stereotype. Its simple geometric figures grouped almost stylishly on the right hand side (of the viewer) and clever variation of the olive tone give it the perfect ‘living room picture.’ That is, it could be hung on a living room wall not as art, but as a decoration to enhance the living area. This type of association diminishes what the artist was trying to convey. The following is an excerpt from Time magazine, March 13, 1950, on Sage’s painting The Instant.

“I can’t tell you what it would mean to most people, but I do know what it means to me. It’s a sort of showing what’s inside - things half mechanical, half alive. The mountain itself can represent almost anything - a human being, life, the world, and fundamental thing.”

Sage is giving the viewer what she thought of her piece. The piece which has a very strong style of geometric simplicity, melded together to create something disquieting about the scene. Its intent is to evoke emotion in the viewer, whatever emotion being viewer preference.