* Chronicles the myth and relationships of the artists of the "Northwest School"

Sounds of the Inner Eyeexplores the artistic and biographical connection among three of the Pacific Northwest's most significant and highly respected artists. Mark Tobey, often aligned with the abstract expressionists, was a pioneer in integrating elements of Asian art into mystical, calligraphic paintings. Morris Graves, known as something of an art world maverick, combined Eastern religious beliefs and a deep appreciation of the natural world in his work, focusing initially on the Northwest's birds and vegetation. John Cage, an avant-garde composer, philosopher, writer, and printmaker, began his visual creations with graphic representations of musical scores, and then evolved to include printmaking, drawing, and watercolor.Sounds of the Inner Eyeexplores the lives and careers of these three men who were instrumental in leading a community of artists, patrons, and scholars into a deeper understanding of the potential and power of art and, in turn, had a large impact on much of what followed in modern art in America. Known as the Northwest Mystics, they were influenced by Eastern philosophies and the natural beauty of the Pacific Rim. Their legendary nickname has remained over time, helping to establish the Northwest as a center for artistic talent, worthy of the admiration of the international art community.

The year before he died, in what was one of the most difficult yet prolific periods of his life, Paul Klee created some of his most surprising and innovative works. In 1939, the year before his death from a long illness and against a backdrop of sociopolitical turmoil and the outbreak of World War II, Klee worked with a vigor and inventiveness that rivaled even the most productive periods of his youth. This book illuminates the artist’s response to his personal difficulties and the era’s broader realities through imagery that is tirelessly inventive—by turns political, solemn, playful, humorous, and poetic. The works featured testify to Klee’s restless drive to experiment with form and material. His use of adhesive, grease, oil, chalk, and watercolor, among other media, resulted in surfaces that are not only visually striking, but also highly tactile and original. Not unlike a diary, the drawings are often meditative reflections on the pains and pleasures of life—their titles, among them Monsters in readiness and Struggles with himself, signal Klee’s frame of mind. Renowned art historian Dawn Ades looks at this group of paintings and drawings in the context of their time and as indicative of a pivotal moment in art history. Moved by this late period of Klee’s oeuvre, American artist Richard Tuttle responds to specific works in the form of dialogical poems. This stunning publication highlights the novelty and ingenuity of Klee’s late works, which deeply affected the generation of artists—including Anni Albers, Jean Dubuffet, Mark Tobey, and Zao Wou-Ki—that emerged after World War II and continues to captivate artists and viewers alike today