Seminar Presentation - Paul Klee - Evaluation

The subject of my seminar presentation was on Painter and Art Theorist - Paul Klee. I chose him as the subject of my presentation he is an Artist who I'm studying as part of my self directed project. 

PowerPoint Presentation slides with notes:

• Paul Klee was a German-Swiss painter, who is considered to be one of the most highly influential figures of early 20th century Expressionism.

• Klee is most notable for his many abstract paintings focussing on colour and form, and his colour theory writings are considered hugely important.

• Klee’s art theories are well documented. In Pedagogical Sketchbook (1925), one of his several important essays on art theory, Klee tried to define and analyse the primary visual elements and the ways in which they could be applied.
• Klee gave a series of lectures on his colour theories at the Bauhaus between 1921 and 1931. His aim was to teach the foundations of colour and form to the students with a series of exercises. These unconventional exercises included a six-part rainbow shaped into a colour wheel. Klee set about seeking alternative ways in which to hold his paintings together visually. A benefit of utilizing small selections of colours was that the resulting impression appeared unified and harmonious. A significant aim was to translate simple colour exercise to the complex work of art.  His strategy was not only to integrate drawing and painting, but also with considerations of form, composition and content.

•  Klee’s visited Tunisia, where he was inspired by the colours and the light he saw there. From this experience Klee created his first abstract piece, ‘In the Style of Kairouan’. The coloured rectangles became his basic building blocks.  Klee combined these blocks with a harmony which draws parallels to musical compositions. His selection of colour is very considered, using complementary pairs of colours as well as dissonant colours – much like in music where you find harmonious notes contrasted with dissonant ones.

• Some of Klee’s later works were noticeably darker with thick lines and fewer colours. He was diagnosed with Scleroderma, a wasting disease, in 1933. Which from therein limited his productivity as an artist.
• In 1937 Adolf Hitler and the Nazis deemed his work as ‘Degenerate Art’, seizing 102 of his public collection.

• Here I have embedded a YouTube Video, which gives a tour of a few Klee paintings in the Tate.

•  I finished the presentation with two of my pieces of work from my self directed project. I talked about how Klee's work and practice has influence mine.

Feedback forms

My tutor and two of my peers completed these feedback forms about my presentation.

Evaluation

I will evaluate my presentation with my Tutor and Peer feedback considered.

Strengths

The presentation was clear in terms of the way I spoke and the layout of the images and text on the slides. I had a good variety of images that were of a high resolution, so they were easy to see. Another strength was that I explained some of Klee's theories and how he had documented these, as well as how he himself had been influenced. I put Klee into context with his contemporaries and colleagues such as Wassily Kandinsky the the Bauhaus. The historical context where I talked about how the Nazi's labelled his work as degenerate which discussed was also noted as a strength. I explained how this suppression impacted Klee's painting style, as well as his wasting disease. I embedded my YouTube clip into the PowerPoint, which meant I didn't waste any time finding the video in the browser - this is also a much more professional way of showing a video. The video itself helped back up some of the things I was saying, as well as expanding on some of my points and giving more examples of his work. I made sure that I presented with a clear voice at a volume that projected to the people at the back of the room.

Weaknesses

It was brought up in the feedback that the presentation as a whole was too descriptive, and that it needed to include more of my own thoughts about his work. I should have spent more time discussing how my own work has been influenced by his. Another weakness was that I did not have a written, or a least scripted comparison of mine and Klee's work to present, so I just spoke without having prepared anything.

Overall I believe my presentation was largely a success, which conveyed Klee's paintings and theories concisely. However, if I were to enter a time machine and re-do the presentation I would integrate images of my own work within the body of the presentation so that I could discuss the relationship between mine and Klee's work - this would mean I could talk about how his work has had an influence on mine. Lastly, I would make sure that I have prepared notes for parts where I talk about my own work.