 Looking at the Sophie Taueber Arp exhibit at the MoMA in NYC, one can't help but notice how literally elemental her work is. Every piece seems to explore the most basic aspects of the element of visual art she's working with at the time. |  |
| Take one of the most basic elements, line or the movement of a point through space. Notice how these two pieces explore this concept so simply but beautifully. In the case of the second piece, the four individual line segments are almost exactly the same each time; the only changes are the color and subtle shifts in the path of the line. |  |  |
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| When a line returns to where it begins, the enclosed area is called a shape. Again, notice how deeply Sophie explores shape and the intersection of shapes in this series. |  |  |  |
| Shifting to color, Taeuber-Arp explores both colors and materials. Paint, stained glass, and fabric each lend a different quality to the color exploration. |  |  |  |
| Within her 2-dimensional pieces, she sometimes set up "rules" for herself such as "divide the space into 2, 4, or 6 equal pieces and explore this division." |  |  |  |
| Finally, with form, she plays with the simplest of 3-dimensional concepts- creating wall pieces, stand-alone sculptures, and a series of delightful marionettes. |  |  |  |
 | Artists of all ages can fall into the trap of thinking "more is more... my artwork will be better if I add to it" and Sophie Taeuber-Arp reminds us this is not true. Sometimes exploring the simplest of ideas, in depth, can lead to beautiful, elegant artworks. |  |
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Sophie Taeuber-Arp
(1889 –1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Despite being overlooked at the time of her death, she is now considered one of the most important artists of geometric abstraction of the 20th century. Critics have said that Taeuber's artworks are "joyous abstractions", created as part of the Dada movement and has been called "revolutionary for its influence challenging the established conventions of art by "playing with blocks and blobs of colour, moving them around randomly, letting patterns emerge by chance, in a kind of visual jazz."
(1889 –1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Despite being overlooked at the time of her death, she is now considered one of the most important artists of geometric abstraction of the 20th century. Critics have said that Taeuber's artworks are "joyous abstractions", created as part of the Dada movement and has been called "revolutionary for its influence challenging the established conventions of art by "playing with blocks and blobs of colour, moving them around randomly, letting patterns emerge by chance, in a kind of visual jazz."
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