Page 267 - Uros Todorovic Byzantine Painting Contemporary Eyes

Chapter V
such as that cited above. For example, in the Mystical Theology, when in reference to the divine the term intangible (ἀνέγγικτο) is applied it means that the divine cannot be touched, which is the apophatic approach, but it also confirms that the divine is intangi- ble and untouchable, which constitutes a cataphatic approach. The negation and affirma- tion are implied simultaneously by Dionysius, and Orthodox theology adheres to this method. In spite of certain inconsistencies that Malevich’s theological ideas manifest in this regard, they have undoubtedly encouraged him in his articulation of an abstract visual language – which he so fittingly termed Suprematism.
Further, Malevich comprehended Nature as an infinity of phenomena which are de- rived from his creative perception. He comprehended art as his collective activity (exist- ence) inside that Nature. In his text entitled From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: The New Realism in Painting he states: “Nature is a painting which is alive and which we can admire. We are the nature’s heart which is alive. We are the most precious structure of that gigantic painting. We are its brain which is alive and which makes the life of na- ture bigger.”34 For Malevich, life meant living entirely through optic and pictorial means, which was a distinctly theological experience. He states in God is not Cast Down: “In reality, it is not necessary to reach God somewhere in heavenly space, because He is found in each of our senses, but simultaneously each of our senses is also a non-sense.”35
By 1918, Suprematism matured and entered into its white phase,36 and here, we should stress the significance of Malevich’s philosophical and theological understanding of the colour white, in both his artistic practice and his theoretical work. In the text entitled “Suprematism I” he claims that “the blue of the sky has been defeated by the Suprematist system, it has been pierced through and has entered into white, which is the genuine representation of the infinite and, due to this fact, it became free from the coloured set- ting of the sky.”37 This, as unintelligible as it may seem at first, is a concept which is in an
34 Our translation of: «Η φύση είναι ένας ζωντανός πίνακας τον οποίο μπορούμε να θαυμάσουμε. Είμαστε η ζω- ντανή καρδιά της φύσης. Είμαστε η πιο πολύτιμη κατασκευή αυτού του γιγάντιου πίνακα. Είμαστε ο ζωντανός εγκέ- φαλός του που κάνει τη ζωή της φύσης μεγαλύτερη.» This is a citation from Malevich’s text entitled From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: The New Realism in Painting. See: Καζιμίρ Μάλεβιτς, Γραπτά, μετάφραση: Δημήτρης Χορό- σκελης (Θεσσαλονίκη: Εκδόσεις Βάνιας, 1992), 70.
35 Our translation of: «Στην πραγματικότητα, δεν χρειάζεται να φτάσουμε τον Θεό κάπου στους ουράνιους χώ- ρους γιατί βρίσκεται σε καθεμιά από τις αισθήσεις μας, αλλά ταυτόχρονα καθεμιά από τις αισθήσεις μας είναι επίσης το μη-νόημα.» This is a citation from Malevich’s text entitled God is not Cast Down: Art, Church, Factory. See: Καζιμίρ Μάλεβιτς, Γραπτά, μετάφραση: Δημήτρης Χορόσκελης (Θεσσαλονίκη: Εκδόσεις Βάνιας, 1992), 193.
36 See: Καζιμίρ Μάλεβιτς, Γραπτά, μετάφραση: Δημήτρης Χορόσκελης (Θεσσαλονίκη: Εκδόσεις Βάνιας, 1992), 19.
37 Our translation of: «Νικημένο από το σουπρεματιστικό σύστημα, το γαλάζιο του ουρανού τρυπήθηκε και μπή- κε στο λευκό, γνήσια αναπαράσταση του απείρου και, εξ αιτίας αυτού του γεγονότος, απελευθερώθηκε από τον χρωματιστό φόντο του ουρανού.» This is a citation from Malevich’s text entitled Suprematism I. See: Καζιμίρ Μάλεβιτς, Γραπτά, μετάφραση: Δημήτρης Χορόσκελης (Θεσσαλονίκη: Εκδόσεις Βάνιας, 1992), 100.
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