Quaderno di schizzi pedagogici

by Paul Klee, Mario Lupano (Translator)

La prima edizione del "Pädagogisches Skizzenbuch" di Paul Klee venne preparata nel 1924,e apparve l'anno successivo nella collana Bauhausbücher curata da Gropius e Moholy-Nagy. Fu chiaro ?n dall'inizio che queste «premesse fondamentali» come venne detto da Gropius nella presentazione del libro «di una parte dell'insegnamento teorico al Bauhaus di Weimar costituivano una componente essenziale della concezione artistico-didattica di Klee e dell'Istituto». Il "Pädagogisches Skizzenbuch" viene qui riprodotto integralmente. La sua preziosità non è dovuta solo a PaulKlee, autore dei disegni e delle ri?essioni teoriche, ma anche all'impaginazione di Moholy-Nagy, che può esser considerata pionieristica. Il libro rappresenta dunque un prodotto di quella cooperazione di «forze di diverso indirizzo» che fu una caratteristica del Bauhaus, insistentemente affermata da Klee come potenziale di feconda dialettica interna e di produttività.

(Dalla premessa di Hans M. Wingler)

Genres: Art, Design, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Architecture, German Literature

102 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a Swiss painter and a German painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and eventually mastered color theory, and wrote extensively about it; his lectures Writings on Form and Design Theory (Schriften zur Form und Gestaltungslehre), published in English as the Paul Klee Notebooks, are considered so important for modern art that they are compared to the importance that Leonardo da Vinci's A Treatise on Painting had for Renaissance. He and his colleague , the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, both taught at the German Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture. His works reflect his dry humour and his sometimes childlike perspective, his personal moods and beliefs, and his musicality.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few books that actually made me 'see' things from a different perspective. Paul Klee is one of the forgotten masters of modern design. It is often the case that a book can give us a different perspective - I would strongly suggest this book to anyone who is interested in art and design.

[jw468 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected to zoom right through this book, given its short length. This is definitely not one of those types of books. This is one of those books that shifts in meaning as one becomes more experienced. Shortly after reading this I read The Tree of Life: Image for the Cosmos, by Roger Cook, and found that a brief passage in that book was especially helpful in shedding some light on Klee’s thoughts. It’s below (it appears on page 30 in the book), although it means less when taken out of context:

It was on the basis of inner necessity, as exemplified in plant growth, that both Kandinsky and his friend and fellow-teacher, Paul Klee, founded their famous ‘point-line to plane’ theories of form production. Thus, Klee told his students at the Bauhaus of ‘the irritated point as latent energy’:

‘At the slightest impetus, the point is about to emerge from a state in which its mobility is concealed, to move onwards, to take on one or more directions. It is about to become linear. In concrete pictorial terms: the seed strikes root. Initially the line is directed earthwards, though not to dwell there, only to draw energy thence for reaching up into the air.

‘The point of origin between soil and atmosphere stretches out, and the generalized plant image becomes tree, root, trunk, crown. The trunk is the medium for the rising of the sap from the soil to the lofty crown. The linear forces gather within it to form a powerful stream, and they radiate outwards, in order to pervade the airspace at free height. Hence forward articulation naturally becomes more and more ramified and open, to make the best of air and light. Leaves become flat lobes, the whole thing begins to resemble a lung, or gills, porous, subdivided, for a single purpose. Let this entire organism now become an example of us – a structure functioning from within to without or vice versa. Let us learn: The whole form results from a single base, the base of inner necessity. Need is at the bottom.’

[Karl Gruenewald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having gone through classical training in architecture, I've long owned Paul Klee's Pedagogical Sketchbook, a relic of the German Bauhaus which defined so much of what is still taught today in architecture schools around the world. Sitting among my collection of textbooks and other recommended readings from school, Klee's slender treatise is the one book I was never able to dig into over the course of my university years, despite being by far the thinnest and many would say "fluffiest"of the lot.

After resolving to sit down and give the book a fair shot, with a (very) open mind, I've been pleasantly surprised at the insights I've been able to glean. Truth be told, the majority of the book still reads like a foreign language to me, a mess of lines with superimposed text sometimes so far divorced from the so-called "diagrams" neighbouring it that I glide through page after page completely lost. Every so often however, Klee will describe a simple idea or a concept in such great clarity and in such an original way that for a fleeting moment, the whole of the "sketchbook" makes sense to you. For those rare instances alone, this curious book is worth the time of any student of art, architecture, or philosophy.

[Richard Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect my rating on this book is very much a reflection on me, more than this book. Perhaps that's always true, but I stress that here as I see many people, some of who write reviews I respect, like it a lot more than me.

The book itself is a rather charming object. Like something hand crafted rather than simply published and typeset in the normal way. If you are a fan of books as objects, this little paperback one scores highly in my view. It also has historical importance as a book originally published by the Bauhaus.

The contents though were a little odd to me and took my mind in two directions. At one end were statements that seemed blandly simple and obvious, and at the other, statements and figures which meant little or nothing to me. At best those statements intrigued me, at worst I was merely baffled. There were a lot more statements of the latter type!

I come from a family of artists, for whom this might be wonderful. I am more of a wordsmith. But it's intriguing enough that I'd encourage others to read it, if it entices. After all, it is a tiny volume of little more than 50 pages and very few words. What have you to lose?

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

So.. I was expecting a book similar to Alber's 'Interaction of Color', but this one is even more abstract, if that's possible. I wanted to read some of his diaries and classroom notes because I watched a documentary that showed glimpses of the sheer amount that he wrote, and I'd like to hear WHY he did what he did with his art. Of all of the early expressionists he seemed to have the most theories to work from, and his art grows on you the longer you sit with it, you keep feeling there's something more you haven't figured out yet in them. So this is his class notes on line and motion. What you decide to do next with his 'taking a line for a walk', or the abstract diagrams in this book, is up to you.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok. Let's talk about Pedagogical Sketchbook. Here Klee does for the line wht Kundera tries to do for the novel in The Art of the Novel. Pedagogical Sketchbook is the place where Klee gives a drawing lesson, and defines the meanings and implications of different lines. He also gives lessons in perspective drawing, and on how to think about images. He does this through drawings which are scattered throughout the text. Though this is a picture book, it's an extremely challenging one. Please talk to me about Pedagogical sketchbook if you have read it. I have a copy, and I know it is hard to find. If you own it, and understand more about it, let's communicate.

[Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

a book that can never be finished as it opens the door for endless exploration and thinking

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting sketches, especially mathematical renderings of art and physics. The only thing is, however, that they are too sketchy and brief to the Klee layman. Nevertheless, I have noted few quick commonalities in his examples: closure; when do time and space matter and when do they not? - e.g. the linear and planar effects of a line and the non-directional, infinite circular movement (more to follow).

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt that everything is best approached from first principles.

[Zudarmodej · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wonder how his lines relate to lines of 3 dimensional movement

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a strange little book. originally intended as a course in design theory at the Bauhaus.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thinking about it this book has shaped everything I have done since

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Eye-opening.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3.5. Had this on my bookshelf for a few years after picking up a used copy. Finally read it and did find some interesting points.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

To stand despite all possibilities to fall

[Cory Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggle to understand the viewpoint of some artists in their explanation of the process of illustration and artistic design. I was not a fan of how Wucius Wong talks about weight of a 2 dimensional representation on paper. To me, weight is a fundamental physics/mechanics concept and it is just silly to talk about it having weight, unless you would capture the actual physical amount of ink or graphite on paper and weigh the mass thereof. That's the problem with having an engineering education and then going back to view artistic understanding of the world. In this short work, Klee (who's artworks I am beginning to enjoy, though the ones at SFMOMA are very small), talks about "taking a line for a walk." It sounds crazy or funny or whimsical. Other artists have thoroughly enjoyed thinking of relating to linework (as engineers refer to it relative to drafting), or "mark-making" as many artists refer to it. I was drawn to pick up this discussion after hearing it related to that way on a recent podcast "A Brush With" where the editor of the Art Newspaper, Ben Luke, interviewed Sonia Boyce. I will continue to work on adjusting my ability to think of art work more playfully and more whimsically.

[pattrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marking this as "read" because I have taken in all the pages, but I have not yet worked through the last few and I already know that I will immediately return to the first page and begin again. So, this will be perennially on the actual shelf beside my drafting table. Whether you are an advanced artist or, like me, a sketcher who likes to think with a pencil, I think you will find it worthwhile to spend time with this slim volume, each page of which offers opportunities for both play and reflection.

[Juniperus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art nature physics math myth magic

[Jaime Algibez]

Tiene buenas ideas

[Megangoldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's an undeniable energy between us. Let's explore it with open hearts and a touch that ignites a desire for something more, something we can explore together.

[Juan Gray · Rating 1 out of 5]

quality problems

The kindle version has many quality problems. I intend to return it. Not recommended.
Will get printed version as this is a useful book.

[Mrsnmz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bilirkişi yorumları ve ilgili örneklerle içerik geliştirilebilirdi.

[Tomato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but a bit overwhelming on first read.

[Myles Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

lines are more interesting than planes, i kept thinking. sometimes, too logical for me; other times, too woo woo. also, i could tell the whole active-medial-passive thing was gonna culminate in masculine-active, feminine-passive zzzzs. but! some nice concepts, like: "one bone alone achieves nothing", "the eye travels the path the work cuts out for it" (but does it want to?), "the vertical describes the logical direction of the plane", "horizontality is either actuality or supposition".

line theory, check. color theory: gonna go real deep. josef alders & beyond!

[booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Methodological conceptualization of Klee's artistic process supplemented with practical illustrations. The book begins with the most primary elements and progresses through successively more complex forms.

[Nina]

it's a picture book, with words. Lecture notes. I need to listed to it to understand notes better...

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what i was looking for but interesting. looking for more about his progression of shapes.

[Sean Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taken aback by its purity and layers of meaning so simply illustrated. Really brilliant.