This book is a great read for anyone that is interested in both art and spirituality. It is "A body of research on the origins of abstract art [and its] connections with occult and mystical belief systems". It is a collaboration of several scholars on the subject of hidden meanings in abstract art. The following selection of quotes give an idea of the tone of the book.
"It is only when new and strange forms are used because they are necessary to express a spiritual content that the result is a living work of art." "The mystical-occult believer has direct access to the 'source'. There is no need for intermediaries of authorities, as in organized religious institutions. Thus reflection becomes a commonly sought, private activity." "Trace a circle no longer than a dot, the whole birth of Eternal Nature is therein contained." "Spiritually inclined artists sought out other who shared their interests and studied diagrams and texts in original spiritual source material." "In sacred geometry the complexities and abstract truths expressed by geometric forms are linked to mystical tenets."
Many big names in modern art are referred to. "[Victor Hugo] conducted seances with his family...[and] recorded his dialogs with Shakespeare, Dante, Aeschylus, and Moliér." "Munch was aware of Swedenborg's belief in seeing auras around people." "Wassily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Piet Mondrion, and Kazimir Malevich moved toward abstraction through their involvement with spiritual issues and beliefs." Emerson is quoted as saying: "Natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact." "Kandinsky adopted Theosophy's model for his theory: finer emotion consists of vibration, vibration shapes the work of art, the work vibrates, and the soul of the beholders set into vibration."