Arts & Entertainment
New doc ‘Hilma af Klint’ reclaims female artist’s place in history
For most of the last century, art scholars generally credited Bauhaus artist Wassily Kandinsky with creating the first paintings of the abstract movement around 1911.
As it turns out, they were wrong – a Swedish artist named Hilma af Klint had quietly become the world’s first abstract artist five years earlier, before the term even existed, and by the time of Kandinsky’s first effort had already produced a considerable body of abstract work.
How did this important contribution to art history manage to go unnoticed by critics and historians for so many years? It’s not at all surprising, really – Hilma af Klint was a woman, and therefore, to the male-dominated art world of the early 20th century, irrelevant.
Now, her life and work is being explored in a new documentary from German director Halina Dyrschka. “Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint” introduces film audiences to a visionary trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science, and the riches of the natural world around her, created a series of huge, colorful, sensual works that were without precedent in the world of painting.
According the the film’s official description, it’s a “course-correcting documentary” that not only covers the artist’s biographical details, but “investigates the role accorded to women in art history and reveals how and why Hilma af Klint was scandalously denied the status of a pioneer of modern art,” as it tells the story of how her art was “rediscovered” and unveiled to a modern audience that was ready to finally give her the recognition she deserved.
Director Dyrschka says the documentary – her first feature, though she has directed several shorts – was first sparked when she read a 2013 article about af Klimt, and was fascinated by the idea of such a monumental figure being obscured by history. A few months later, she went to an exhibition of the artist’s work, and she was hooked.
“I was standing in the middle of a hall surrounded by Hilma af Klint’s ‘Ten Largest, altogether 25 meters of paintings, 3.60 meters high,” she says. “And beyond the paintings – a whole world. But why have they been kept from me so long? I almost felt personally insulted when I read that this was a new discovery and the paintings have been hidden for decades.”
She started her research “immediately afterward,” she says, and was surprised by what she learned about the artist.
“Here was a woman who consequently followed her own path in life,” she says. “Despite all restrictions, Hilma af Klint explored the possibilities that go beyond the visible. She knew that she was doing something important not only for herself but for many people.”
“It is more than time to tell the untold heroine stories,” Dyrschka adds. “This is a film about a truly successful life – a woman who was not dependent of the opinion of others, and kept on going her very unique way of living and working.
“Hilma af Klint’s oeuvre goes even beyond art because she was looking for the whole picture of life,” the director concludes. “And with that she comes close to the one question: What are we doing here?”
“Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint” will premiere in the US with an April 10th opening in New York, with other cities to follow.
You can watch the trailer below.
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
The Washington Blade hosted the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at The Wharf DC on Friday, June 6. NBC4’s Tommy McFly served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
South African activists demand action to stop anti-LGBTQ violence
Gay pharmacist’s murder sparks outrage in Chile
D.C. police investigating threat of shooting at WorldPride festival
Capitalism, patriarchy, and neocolonialism are repackaging the scramble for Africa
WorldPride wraps up after epic weekend of events
I interviewed Biden in late 2024 and he was attentive, engaged
Delaware Gov. Meyer announces LGBTQ commission
PHOTOS: Capital Pride Honors
U.S. Park Service closes Dupont Circle Park for WorldPride weekend
