Hilma af Klint's Life Becomes a Musical for 80th Death Anniversary
A new musical titled 'Hilma' premiered in Philadelphia in June 2024 and will soon open in New York, produced by the Wilma Theatre and New Georges. Directed by Morgan Green with a libretto by Kate Scelsa and music by Robert M. Johanson, the experimental three-act show focuses on af Klint's series of ten large abstract paintings created in 1907. It incorporates imaginative staging and choreography to depict her spiritual life, drawing from her notebooks. The character of Rudolf Steiner is portrayed as an antagonist, though no historical conflict is documented. The musical coincides with the 80th anniversary of af Klint's death in 1944. Af Klint (1862–1944) was a Swedish painter who pioneered abstract art in 1906, four years before Kandinsky. Her work was inspired by theosophy, anthroposophy, and Christianity. She stipulated that her 1,200 paintings and extensive notes be kept from public view for 20 years after her death. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest: a 2019 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, a 2020 documentary 'Beyond The Visible' by Halina Dyrschka, and a 2022 film 'Hilma' by Lasse Hallström. In 2023, Tate Modern paired her with Piet Mondrian in 'Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life'. The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf recently hosted 'Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky: Dreams of the Future', directly comparing the two artists.
Key facts
- Hilma af Klint died in 1944 at age 81.
- She was born in Solna, Sweden in 1862.
- She left 1,200 paintings, hundreds of texts, and 26,000 pages of notes with instructions to show them only after 20 years.
- She graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and exhibited with the Swedish General Art Association.
- Her first abstract painting dates to 1906, four years before Wassily Kandinsky's famous watercolor.
- The musical 'Hilma' is a co-production of Wilma Theatre (Philadelphia) and New Georges (New York).
- The musical premiered in Philadelphia in June 2024 and will move to New York.
- The musical features a fictionalized antagonistic portrayal of Rudolf Steiner.
Entities
Artists
- Hilma af Klint
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Piet Mondrian
- Frida Kahlo
- Tamara de Lempicka
- Rudolf Steiner
Institutions
- Royal Academy of Fine Arts
- Swedish General Art Association
- Guggenheim Museum
- Tate Modern
- Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
- Wilma Theatre
- New Georges
Locations
- Solna
- Sweden
- Stockholm
- New York
- Philadelphia
- London
- Düsseldorf