Why is this painting of a black square famous? - Allison Leigh

Discover the symbolism of Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square,” and how it pushed the boundaries of what art is and what it can be.
--
In 1915, an exhibition of radical artworks opened in Russia. Many pieces pushed the boundaries of form and style, but one was particularly controversial: Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square.” Criticized as simple and uninspired, Malevich’s work is more complicated than it first appears- and may not be a painting of a black square at all. Allison Leigh digs into the art style known as Suprematism.
Lesson by Allison Leigh, directed by Alexia Roider, Zedem Media.
Support Our Non-Profit Mission
----------------------------------------------
Support us on Patreon: bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Check out our merch: bit.ly/TEDEDShop
----------------------------------------------
Connect With Us
----------------------------------------------
Sign up for our newsletter: bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Follow us on Facebook: bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
----------------------------------------------
Keep Learning
----------------------------------------------
View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-thi...
Dig deeper with additional resources: ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-thi...
Animator's website: www.zedemanimations.com
----------------------------------------------
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Igor Stavchanskiy, James R DeVries, Grace Huo, Diana Huang, Chau Hong Diem, Orlellys Torre, Corheu, Thomas Mee, Maryann H McCrory, Blas Borde, John Hellmann, Poompak Meephian, Chuck Wofford, Adam Pagan, Wes Winn, Conder Shou, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, David D, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon and Geoffrey Bultitude.

[@TheVirtualArena24]

Kudos to the animators always the best according to the topic of the video.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

I agree.

[@kaunghlamyat]

"a refudge of pure feelings,that lay beneath a burden of objects" this quote somehow managed to stand between the simplicity and complexity

[@Crocthunder]

To who? At the end of the day its up to you as the beholder , its fun, there isnt like anything threatening about it beyond just thinking @@topherthe11th23

[@kaunghlamyat]

@@topherthe11th23who give this kid a phone 🌚

[@kaunghlamyat]

@@topherthe11th23 Nono,he got a point

[@KiwioftheTropics]

@@kaunghlamyatikr

[@kaunghlamyat]

@@KiwioftheTropics nice

[@tam11225]

I think it’s really based off of the hype behind it. I mean Donda was alright but it was nowhere close to the expectations people had for it

[@vivoosan]

It was great tho, a little bit bloated but still great

[@satsuc]

donda

[@cx3622]

Donda was great. You probably listen to fnaf music if you think donda is bad 💀

[@gollossalkitty]

​@@cx3622thats shallow

[@huwawwew]

DONDA

[@101yayo]

"It doesn't need to make sense, just feel it" - Christopher Nolan

[@nicolekidman54]

⬛ This says alot about our society

[@annashvets2059]

Malevich spent years of his life in Belarus, and it affected his art. Vitebsk was an art center in the region.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

True

[@johannabonana5306]

Abstract visual art is just like music sometimes. A music piece that does not represent anything in the real world can bring any large range of strong emotions. Why is it so weird when that is done visually?

[@sen7826]

It's not that deep, man. Just like not all sounds are music, all paintings aren't art.

[@pastel7324]

Define Music Define art

[@goddessdeedeebubblesofimag7789]

Do you think it has some sort of connection to all the weird shapes and psuedocolors we see when we close our eyes in the dark; like our brain is a complex, artistic symphony not even it can understand?

[@HerMi.T]

​@@sen7826no you are actually assuming stuff. I am not saying to like them. But they present a beautiful nature of philosophy behind what is music and art.

[@sen7826]

@@HerMi.T I didn't reply to anything you said, did I? I don't even know what "you are saying" because this is your first reply here. So, no, I'm not assuming anything you are saying.

[@lizardguyNA]

Well, it clearly inspired something in someone, so it's certainly got that part of art down.

[@Apocalypse131618]

when my kid was 4 months old, she grabbed a pencil and she "drew" a line on a piece of paper. Then, to make my wife laugh, I start bullsh*tting about how that was a masterpiece and that what it seemed just like a crooked line actually had a lot of meaning. Now...when this video started with "the square is off center to give movement", the hair in the paint, the paintings under the painting, etc. it sounded 100% the style of what I said about my daughter's "painting". For example I remember saying stuff like "the line is going down and it could be interpreted like life will bring suffering but, since it's drawn on a free paper, you can just rotate and it will go up. This doesn't change the line (the events in your life) but changes how you see it because even the same events can be seen from completely different perspective and give you happiness or sadness, depending on how you're gonna interpret it"

[@audhd_incarnate8001]

And in the end, that's what all art is. A conversation had between whomever comes into contact with it.

[@Joshua-dc4un]

Except your daughter wasn't trying to make a painting, at least not that we can tell she was trying to

[@thelemurofmadagascar9183]

@@audhd_incarnate8001 In that case literally everything any human being has come across is art. You've made the definition of art so broad that it's meaningless and conveys nothing.

[@thelemurofmadagascar9183]

@@Joshua-dc4un Why does the intent matter? By your logic, me sneezing into a tissue could be art as long as it was done by me intentionally. If you can't look at a piece of art without being able to discern whether it was done intentionally or was simply a freak accident, then maybe it's not really art at all.

[@audhd_incarnate8001]

@@thelemurofmadagascar9183 If that's your interpretation sure. But some of us find meaning in the mundane

[@benstallone6784]

I get that he wanted viewers to experience feelings, but when art is too abstract with no objects at all then it is hard to feel any feeling besides confusion

[@LeprosuGnome]

Agreed, he had to spend years explaining his art and in the end it never caught on. What's the point of his art if there isn't anything for you to even start thinking about?

[@nickway_]

If you are spending time considering what it might mean, then perhaps he achieved his goal?

[@ghostderazgriz]

​@@nickway_Not necessarily. The purpose of the art style is convey feeling without objective realism. Most people have the capacity to feel, and even the most basic of things like a color can provoke a feeling, but when presented a piece of art, their childlike wonder typically is set aside for logical analysis. The cruel irony of artwork like this is that it relies on one to only look, with no criticism of art itself. No technique, no interpretation of meaning, only to look and reflect on yourself. But people typically would only do that if they weren't critically analyzing art in an art gallery.

[@theaslam9758]

@@ghostderazgriz You can explain it however way you want, but you cannot say it is even remotely worth 20-140 million dollars. It's no different than the abstract parts of psychology, something reserved for people who have too much time on their hands, but with art it's money.

[@Watch-0w1]

@@theaslam9758 u reply to the wrong guy and I do agree with you

[@sen7826]

"But his opened hand formed a quadrilateral"... No it didn't. This is a prime example of people imagining meaning where there is none. The open hand hardly even represents an angle, much less a quadrilateral.

[@Hallows4]

With some art styles, it can be a fine line between subverting the norm to create a meaningful message, and simply being a contrarian to boost your own sense of self-worth.

[@murph_mustela]

I really think this the case here. I'll spend months on my paintings, which also have been painted upon used painting canvases. They too have begun to crack over time. And my paintstrokes are also visible, my hair, my fingerprints, my sweat, even my blood when i painted so long my hands blistered. What makes art, art, is that a special effort and intention was put into it. But no special effort or intention went into this, because this happens to all paintings.

[@thelemurofmadagascar9183]

Or maybe you're just being pretentious.

[@0hmyl0rdd_]

This guy's either a genius, or an eloquent BS-er 😅

[@Quantum-Bullet]

Just need some special explanation for why it exists.

[@conqueror_ofMILFs]

both

[@LeprosuGnome]

I'm inclined on a BS-er wannabe genius

[@feddi7693]

Both can be true 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@Watch-0w1]

How can that art survive the test of time if it need someone to explain it

[@dargon1084]

Whatever you do there will always be someone who likes your work

[@yuvrajshekhawat8667]

Underrated comment

[@beanie2145]

Hands down my favorite lecture from dr Leigh’s class she’s one of the best professors I’ve ever had❤

[@Jes_Draws]

Same, She is honestly the best teacher ive ever had.

[@allisonleigh]

🥰

[@ShannaroCold]

I firmly believe that the art is not his painting, but his intentions and views. The moment he put it on canvas it became an object, what is the exact opposite he wanted. His explanation is the art and the painting is just the "canvas".

[@Watch-0w1]

Would u pay to see it ?

[@aliza4325]

Well said

[@Joshua-dc4un]

@@Watch-0w1 Yes

[@Watch-0w1]

@@Joshua-dc4un ⬜ ⬛

[@trillionbones89]

This painting and video is proof that you can read anything into a picture.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

That is true.

[@sadkiwi4960]

Awesome video! And the analysis was amazing!

[@Jiradevan]

one of my favorite paintings ever

[@JDazell]

I love his work. My design portfolio is unified by the motifs of his work.

[@caesar7734]

0:10 It was also known as Saint Petersburg, Russia at the time. It was renamed Leningrad in 1924 and the USSR was formed in 1922.

[@micoberss5579]

During WW1 they change the name to Petrograd to sound more Russian . because Petersburg is a German word.

[@agargamer6759]

Beautiful and thought-provoking!

[@marcusrowan7212]

I guess it's the art equivalent of being able to enjoy a videogame right from the get go or having to stick with it for a few hours before it gets good.

[@AldrianCG]

Carmen Oliveras en su artículo Los conceptos principales, más que preguntarse “¿Qué es arte?”, hoy sería más pertinente preguntarse “¿Cuándo hay arte?”. De modo que sólo el tiempo podrá responder si el cuadro lo es o no. ✌🏼

[@sandracardoso2602]

On that logic, if time is infinite then everything can and will eventually be art, it's not an "if" question.

[@Julzaa]

Very inspiring, loved that story!

[@investoveda]

Where to find such music like used in video ?

[@shlad1470]

This was a really interesting video! Kind of amazed by how many comments are being so negative

[@Sunflowersarepretty]

My first thought when I first saw it was also that anyone can do it even a little child can. His other works looked great to me. Somehow it reminded me of a banana in a museum or art exhibition that someone left turning into a piece of art 😂.

[@Echo81Rumple83]

The fact that the video pointed out how it was not, in fact, a perfect square, has triggered my OCD tendencies when it comes to drawing panels for comics X3

[@tashrifahmadnazif7383]

Wow. Thank you Ted ed. The presentation and animation was great. So was his quote about desert and feeling

[@rosidmuhtadi6339]

I agree that modern art is about feeling, more than just documentation about figure.

[@duanneberry5055]

The painting Take the money and run by Jens Haaning has suddenly got me interested in art all of a sudden

[@VietTranPhuoc]

In software engineering, there's a phrase for this: bugs become features 😅

[@keixariel]

So interesting and inspiring! Love it

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

I agree.

[@MsYeleo]

This was so interesting!!!

[@bsku0765]

The fact that it was placed where an Icon would be was all the context I needed. Pretty solid expression I would say.

[@hkayakh]

I don’t understand the opening quote. What does it mean?

[@NOOBCRASTINATOR69]

Ou can't just splash some paint and call it a stract art...there has to be a beautiful story behind it that makes one completely charmed to speak of it

[@namelesscare7982]

Those people who criticize Malevich's works weren't paying attention to the detail of his paintings. They looked at paintings like a "child" not an expert. Hence, they lacked insight about the real meaning of these images.

[@mrcookiemilk772]

Child isnt the the right word.. more like.. a person who can actually tell the difference between art that actually means something and doesn't need a video to explain to the viewer why they should enjoy said art and art that does.

[@murph_mustela]

If you have to be educated to appreciate art, then it has failed. Art should speak to your feelings. There should be no need for education.

[@knightshade2654]

@@murph_mustela Maybe Dwayne Johnson movies are more your speed.

[@fredriksjoman]

A refuge of pure feeling. But did it make you feel anything? How?

[@omiscendo]

No objects, just vibes

[@ucglib530]

Nice, how this small video pulled my attention. Thanks for this!

[@HeisenbergFam]

Art in 2023 has evolved to a whole new astronomical level

[@laurendoe168]

Al least we can be sure the painting wasn't AI generated.

[@gailaltschwager7377]

Thank you!

[@CharlotteXMoon]

I've learned a lot today

[@avivastudios2311]

His ideas about 'feeling' are interesting however we already had that in paintings that were focused on objects.

[@RakeshPGopal]

Nice ad. I’m convinced.

[@abedfadila9266]

I loved this story

[@vagabondfeet]

Very nice

[@Sarah-yd9gt]

Before the invention of the photograph, art had the sole responsibility for recording the visual human experience for later reference. Photography freed painting and sculpture from what was both a heavy burden and an immense responsibility. According to my high school art teacher, art is currently trying to answer the question "What is Art?" I would rephrase this question as: "What can we get art experts (including artists and critics) to agree constitutes Art?" It is a boring question equivalent to "If I paid a lawyer to stand in a court room and argue about what falls into the definition of 'Cat,' what plausible arguments could the lawyer come up with that other like-minded lawyers would agree with?" The word "Cat" in the previous sentence can be replaced with a variety of nouns such as "car," "furniture," "chicken," "boat," "vegetable," and even concepts like "sports" or "art." If the opinions of non-lawyers are dismissed because "they aren't lawyers," why would the lawyer-approved, stretched-out and distorted definition of the word "Cat" even be valid? Similarly, when artists are pushing the limits on what can be considered "Art," why is the resulting stretched-out definition of "Art" valid, especially if the only opinions considered are those of art experts themselves? This is the frustration I feel as an art consumer walking through displays of modern art that look to me like a plumber was having a bad day. These are the rooms at an art museum where people don't linger. In a parallel universe, Fine Art could be defined by the following: "the best fine art is the art that can be wildly marked up and sold on a cruise ship." This would mean that the Fine Art is defined as art that best connects emotionally and is accessible intellectually to the general public. In the actual real world, this definition of Fine Art would really pi** off art critics, but why is would such a radical definition of Fine Art be invalid? Originally, art was about recording images to be shared with the general public for informational purposes and not an inward emotional exploration among a tight circle of art experts.

[@Joshua-dc4un]

People don't linger because they already have a conception of what art is or should be. And are not really looking to change their minds

[@Sarah-yd9gt]

@JMRCUSP I'm glad you enjoyed my comment. Thank you for enlightening me about art history and photography. I'm a lawyer and casual art consumer and not anyone super knowledgeable about art. BTW, if I was arguing for the most expansive definition possible of the word "Cat" that I thought I might get away with, I would have argued that any animal with a nose and whiskers should be considered a cat. "Hello Kitty" is unambiguous considered a cat based on its nose, whiskers, face shape, and ears. The ears and the face shape should be disregarded in my definition. Hello Kitty's ears are just undefined nubs, and cats' faces aren't actually round. Thus, the whiskers and the nose make the cat. The expansiveness of the definition comes into play because most mammals (including all non-human primates) have whiskers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskers. All mammals I am aware of have noses.

[@facagravata]

"Sole responsability for recording the visual experience"? Oh, no. That's a complete misunderstanding of art and art history, or of human history and even just common sense. That was not the only intended or unintended function of art. And other forms of expression have always been able to represent visual imagery for posterity. Just think about it. Even if a person says "I once saw a cow. It was big and blue with Hugo square eyes", and somebody hears that and tells it to their children, who by themselves tell it to their own children. There you go, visual registry of a cow for posterity.

[@facagravata]

Huge*

[@octobixer]

Very cool but does anyone else see the bear in the painting

[@purplecouch4767]

Cool square dude.

[@Afaloz]

Well well if it isn’t another piece of thing ❤ this is art 😮

[@goddessdeedeebubblesofimag7789]

Hmmmm... I find it difficult to look away from this square. I've begun to see the cracks and lack thereof as... a city, with roads and districts.

[@abhijiths5237]

artists paints a simple picture Literature teachers:

[@LeprosuGnome]

Wow, a ⬛, indeed pure feeling

[@nicolekidman54]

What until you see ⚫, even more deep and profound

[@DanielKolbin]

not just any square tho, not even a square :O

[@gamermapper]

It sure is 🗿

[@DanielKolbin]

What a genius-

[@Apoc33]

Someone made a blank canvas naming it "Take the money and run" 😂😂

[@NurseRatchedWELL]

🎉🎉Awesomeness

[@kyleromero9912]

Anything can be the deepest art ever created if you bs it enough

[@IAteAnAK47]

i love this square

[@Snowman_44]

If you look hard enough, you'll find lots of meaning in even an infant's scribbling. So i still don't get what's so special. But i read that rich people buy these weird paintings to avoid huge taxes somehow.

[@nuclearprotocol]

Yup. I wouldn't value this painting above others. I personally find leaving *this much *meaning up to the interpreter to be lazy and misguided

[@gamermapper]

I prefer a child's skribbles than an adult's because at least I know the kid and it's kinda cute and stuff, with adults creating these scribbles and selling them for billions they're just scamming people

[@kevinbrian1550]

Thank you for sub indo

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

So it seems art will always be different and each is not for everybody. However, suppressing the artist from his/her art to imitate another is far worse.

[@xjdkdndnhzndjfndndnnd5506]

ive never heard of it?

[@poornimaanugondanahalli]

Wow! Thoroughly enjoyed this video😃 my idea about abstract art changed after watching this video😊 thank you TED-Ed❤

[@davidbenedict5617]

Yes it is

[@AGJ117]

I need to create a backstory, paint me a smiley face, and make me some bank in the art world.

[@Ihatehuman666]

Malevich started his second Peasant's series before his arrest in 1930. He was arrested for his subversive philosophy and engagement in the Bolshevist movement, not art (not an excuse for the arrest, though). His turning back to figurative art was due to the limits of Suprematist art as early as in the mid 1920s, before 1932 suppression of Leftist (avantgarde) art in the USSR. Basically, he couldn't go farther than simple forms: square, circle, triangle. He used up all the combinations soon. And his latest pictures were hugely inspired by the Italian Renaissance, which he adored. Malevich was born in Kiev, Russian Empire, btw. Fact checking still exists, TED-ed, you know.

[@keithshaw2416]

The Painted Word: It would be just as easy to heroize an accidental coffee stain, explaining the deep layers of meaning in it. Art Criticism has had a hand in ruining art forever.

[@DoubleVanimation]

Ahh yes. Daily dose of Ted Ed. So much information that im not gonna use🥲

[@primenumberbuster404]

Aight, I need those as blindfolds to sleep at night after knowing this is art.

[@hussienbintalal91]

WorthEstimated is over $20 million 🫠

[@hannahjewelgultiano1106]

omg why do I just remember that box from jims computer

[@PramkLuna]

If his art was just made to reflect feeling, I question why bother with paint and canvas at all 🤔

[@maskedlover8768]

Malevich basicly declared war with OCD's people

[@thedspenguin]

Malevich, one of my favourite artists, among Escher and Pollock.

[@gavine2363]

The history is always cool, but I think the point of art is to make u feel something. Personally, I feel nothing when I see tht square and a lot of art tht I see in museums come to think of it. Partly why I don’t like art museums - more artifacts of history than art

[@RedstonerCraftMC]

You lost me at the part where you told the lore of a strand of hair that got stuck in a paint.

[@hawkward957]

That's all cool. It's still a square, though. I don't think it's deeply profound because it's off-center and there's a hair stuck in it 😂. "It giVeS iT a sENse oF mOVeMEnT" k dude, or maybe he didn't have a ruler handy. The thing is, people can BS some sort of deep meaning out of ANYTHING if they try hard enough. I'd say that's exactly what people are doing when it comes to many examples of highly simplistic or random abstract artwork "that a child could make." Spare me all this pretentious "oh, you're too close-minded to get it" or "you simply need to try harder to engage with the artwork" Nah man, you're just making stuff up and getting high on your own farts. Make whatever art you want, however simple you want, but when an all-white painting, or a single shape, or a bunch of random splatters, or a damn banana taped to a wall is getting applauded as inspiring artwork and sold for the price of a house, then yeah, people are gonna roll their eyes and make fun of it.

[@modkip25]

I love stuff like this, it's so easy to cause outrage. It's very interesting.

[@globurim]

The artist in question: Oh yeah, good point. I mean, yes.

[@BasBruurs]

Cool story. But at the end of the day, the only feeling i got from that art is that i wanted to see some Rembrandt and Vermeer.

[@Manowar458]

Cool

[@edvard-swift3645]

Lol 😂😂 it reminds me when someone tries to explains why something and how calculated it was when there not much there, grasping at straws😂😂

[@uniqueen5043]

Since when?

[@nacaurel]

Here we go rekindling the flame ‘cause the demand is too low.

[@VISK12]

When you interpret more than author

[@Sunny68209]

cause its the donda album cover duhh

[@unmermaid]

Thought this was going to be about Instagram posts in 2020

[@benediktjostingmeier2223]

It could also be that he didn't like the first two paintings and decidet to essentialy erase his work

[@nihvl]

DONDA

[@Boofski]

Just tell me what kind of S-Type Donda West like?

[@JDazell]

◾Zaha Hadid, the late British-Iraqi architect, was so inspired by his paintings that she found her way to express her design thought through his ideas. She had also given lectures on his work. ⬛

[@neon_Nomad]

Lima blue

[@user-bp4nv3qp4d]

Popular color ?

[@lizardguyNA]

Damn, got a lot of Soviet Soldiers in this comment section already.

[@dandiaz19934]

It's a shame this type of art is impossible to be appreciated without handicaps: articles by the author explaining his worldview, being positioned in a museum where it won't be mistaken as nothing intentional, etc. Other art pieces can evoke emotion without those handicaps of explanation and museum spotlight.

[@oezzimix]

I don't want to read essays and know the life story of an artist to be able to artificially put meaning into an artwork. It should be interesting by itself.

[@GraveUypo]

it's not just a square, it's a badly drawn square. i actually lolled at the description of how the fact it is crooked makes it special

[@joeshar.]

Why does the painting is famous? Because the artist is famous.

[@JiannaSandoval]

Sure

[@xjdkdndnhzndjfndndnnd5506]

donda