Level 6: Moving Towards Abstraction is the sixth level in the Art of Andamento: Curriculum for Mosaic and is designed for students interested in exploring the theories and techniques that underpin abstraction.

This level will equip students with skills to integrate basic elements of abstraction into their independent artistic practice.

Throughout the course, creative activities are intertwined with theoretical investigations that explore the development of abstraction while drawing inspiration from the Modernist movements of Cubism, Der Blaue Reiter, De Stijl, Colour Field and more.

By tracing the deconstruction of representation in art, we can begin to understand how and why abstraction evolved, a transformation that became an inevitable outcome after centuries of artists striving to capture visual reality.

We will examine how artists of the Modernist movement distanced themselves from traditional systems of patronage and forged Avant guard paths that embraced independent practice and experimentation. This shift necessitated the abandonment of representation and the rejection of prescribed narratives. Understanding this historical context will help enrich your artistic perspective and give context to abstraction that goes beyond pattern building.

For each unit students develop their own artworks (collage, painting, drawing, pastels) using the techniques employed by Modernist artists. These practical investigations form the basis of their mosaic studies. 

Level 6: Part B  – Developing an Abstract Series will follow.

Samples by Alli Hossack, Mary Lou Romano, Jo Mitchell, Jacqui McCooke.

​Before we begin looking at abstraction we must understand why it was a necessary development in Modern Art.

In Unit 1 we take a brief look at why stabilising visual facts on a canvas was no longer a relevant way to work and how changes in the world brought about by the industrial revolution were reflected in the movements of early Modernism. 

We will look specifically at Post Impressionist Painter Paul Cezanne and key Cubist artists Picasso, Braque and Gris with a focus on the use of multiple perspectives as a means to capture are more ‘accurate’ version of reality.

Samples by  Jo Mitchell, Jacqui McCooke, Paul Harper and Sue Binzer Jones

Samples by  Caitlin Hepworth, Alli Hossack, Jane Denison, Debbie Sweedman.

In Unit 3 we explore at the Modernist art and architecture movement of De Stijl (The Style) and its sub-movement Neoplasticism (New Plastic Art).

The stylistic approach of this group spread throughout architecture, interior design, and painting, and was later appropriated in fashion and is still reproduced frequently in popular culture today. 

While Kandinsky’s approach to energetic and spiritual elevation took on a gestural and free approach Mondrian’s work was extremely simplified, geometric and bound by rules and principles of reductionism. 

Both artists made connections to Theosophy and believed that art could evoke a spiritual experience and they practiced art as a metaphysical quest for higher truth.​

Samples by Caitlin Hepworth, Jo Mitchell, Jacqui McCooke, Tani Bates, Xanthe Wells.

In Unit 4 we explore two completely different approaches to abstraction.

We have the moody, quietly vibrating colour panels of Colour Field painter Mark Rothko and the vibrant, loud and crisp geometries of Post Painterly Abstract artist Frank Stella as inspiration for mosaic exploration.

Samples by Jo Mitchell, Jacqui McCooke, Alli Hossack, Andrina Rout and Lynette Price. 

Artistic Evolution
Each unit focuses on a particular movement and collection of artists and how they approached the deconstruction and reconstruction of form.
Following the theoretical introduction we complete a series of structured practical activities in drawing, painting and mixed media in order to explore particular techniques in colour, movement and composition.
These artistic investigations form the basis of  small mosaic studies which are completed between classes.
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Contemporary Application
While the Modernist movement has now past, its underlying philosophies and techniques continue to resonate in contemporary artistic practice.

This level helps you to apply these techniques to your chosen themes and subjects helping to springboard your mosaic practice.

Whilst technically this Level is not overly hard, the theoretical content increases and the integration with other artmaking techniques becomes important.

Intermediate Levels 4, 5, 6 & 7 are offerred Live Online based on expressions of interest from eligible and interested students.