Charles Burchfield's Seasons

It is remarkable what Charles Burchfield could do with what might be considered ordinary subjects taken from a Midwestern field or December sky. I think he will ultimately be remembered for the nature paintings that he deeply imbued with his personal symbolism of both vision and sound. Check out his "Summer Solstice" (1961 - 1966) on the cover of this book, or Plate 28, "Gateway to September" (1946 - 1956) if you'd like to see how he incorporated sound and movement into his paintings. He used `agitrons' (cartoon-strip squiggles) to indicate movement, `squeans' (asterisks with empty centers) for shafts of sunlight, and `blurgits' (Burchfield describes them as `shrill high pinpoints') for the sounds of crickets. The overall effect is Expressionist rather than cartoonish. Burchfield was a completely original watercolorist. This book of Burchfield's paintings highlights his fascination with the changing seasons. It is not meant to be a complete biography, nor does it contain the complete works of this artist. Almost every full-page, full-color plate is accompanied by a quotation from Burchfield. Next to Plate 12, "June Wind" (1937) he says, "If all musical sounds were to be forever silenced--orchestras, bands, human voices, birds & insects--and I were allowed to retain one sound to cheer me, I would ask that the wind might play in the tree-tops. The wind! Motion is life. All is dead that stands still." This book has a ten page introduction to Charles Burchfield's life and work, but most of `Seasons' consists of 36 carefully selected watercolors that highlight his intimate relationship with nature. I often wonder whether this artist was a synesthete--one of those rare human beings who can `see' sounds and `hear' colors. If you'd like to read a more complete biography of Charles Burchfield, try "The Inlander" by John Baur (lots of illustrations but few are in color) or "The Paintings of Charles Burchfield: North by Midwest" by Nannette Maciejunes and Michael Hall (much more color).