In the Midst of a Visional Infinite Motion — Encounter Between the Red/Green of Klee's "Fugue in Red" and the Red/Green of Boulez's "Constellation–Miroir of Third Piano Sonata"

Klee added six works to his handwritten oeuvre catalogue, including Fugue in Red, which originated from an experiment on the movement between the complementary colours of red and green in 1921.* This reminded me of the Constellation in Boulez’s unfinished 3rd Piano Sonata, which was printed in red and green. In the process of making the imperceptible (the invisible or the inaudible) perceptible, I found a surprising similarity in the methods of organization used by both artists. Furthermore, I will describe how the “grey” or “intermediate areas” located between the complementary colours in Klee’s work find their acoustic correspondence in Boulez’s work, drawing on my experience as a pianist. I will also consider the implications of the circular structure that the two artists used to overcome the linear time structure. Finally, I will touch on several interesting examples of these structures that the violinist Klee discovered in Bach’s works, and I will try to shed light on the mystery of Klee, who in his works explored the theme of “infinite movement.”

*See Kersten 2005, p. 172; Keller 2024.