Rhythmic Geometric Abstraction
Grade Level:
Grades K–5, Grades 6–8
Lesson Type: Collection
Colored Rhythm, 1958, by Sonia Delaunay, captures the philosophy of Orphism, a branch of Cubism that focuses on bright colors and abstraction, by using shape and color as a style of expression similar to notes in music. Delaunay’s work is a geometric abstraction that symbolically represents the joyful rhythms of the universe, which felt were in harmony with modern life. This lesson, in connection with a music curriculum, will introduce students to the Orphism movement through emphasis on color, shape, pattern, and rhythm.