TO CREATE THESE OIL PASTELS, STUDENTS STUDIED THE WORK OF WASSILY KANDINSKY. HE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE "INVENTORS" OF ABSTRACT PAINTING. HE BEGAN PAINTING REALISTICALLY, BUT FELT LIMITED BY THIS FORM OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. HE DEVELOPED AN ART FORM IN WHICH SHAPES AND COLORS ALONE BECAME IMPORTANT QUALITIES. HIS SYSTEM DID NOT RELY ON REALISTIC IMAGES. SINCE KANDINSKY WAS SO HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE MUSIC OF GERMAN COMPOSER RICHARD WAGNER, STUDENTS LISTENED TO ONE OF HIS COMPOSITIONS AS THEY BEGAN THEIR OIL PASTELS. KANDINSKY CREATED "PURE VISUAL MUSIC" THAT AWAKENED, "VIBRATIONS IN THE SOUL." STUDENTS USED HIS SYSTEM AND PAINTED "FROM THE HEART."
