By Meryl Feld
Kansas City native and internationally acclaimed contemporary artist, Rita Blitt, is set to publish a new book mid-August, making parts of her legacy collection accessible to more people than ever before.
“Rita Blitt: Around and Round” celebrates more than 60 years of her work — sculptures, paintings, drawings and video.
Over 100 pieces of creativity, straight from Blitt’s heart, jump off the book’s pages. It’s the kind of book you make sure is on the coffee table when guests come over — the use of textured and transparent paper; the natural flow from photo to photo and page to page; the thoughtful and thought-provoking essays by scholars guiding you through the book and Blitt’s career.
Why does the book title invoke the image of spinning in circles? “The circle is the most important shape there is. It’s a sign of peace and completeness,” Blitt told The Chronicle, “They’re a very important shape that I love.”
While painting what later became the cover of the book, Blitt was thinking of the Aspen mountains, while letting the lines flow from her subconscious. “I really wanted to be conscious and unconscious at the same time,” she said. Blitt has only worked in this fashion on a few pieces.
The painting on the book cover is called “Celebrating Fall in Aspen II.” It was the second painting she created on Rosh Hashanah 5764 — in 2003. “That was my way of celebrating the holiday,” she said. The original is over nine feet long.
Her work has been showcased in over 70 exhibitions across the world. Her sculptures reach for the clouds in Japan, Australia and Singapore, as well as across the United States.
Blitt’s work focuses on her love of nature, dance and music. Her work is known for depicting the energy of movement and sound, as well as for exuding joy and happiness. “I feel so lucky. Oh my gosh — that’s an honor you know, to bring joy to others.”
Blitt’s legacy collection
“Rita Blitt: Around and Round” was produced by the Mulvane Art Museum at Washburn University in Topeka, celebrating the establishment of the Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, comprised of Blitt’s donation of her legacy collection.
“Rita Blitt has rendered an extensive body of work that ranges from monumental sculptures that anchor communities around the world, acrylic forms that are suspended and spin gently with air currents, and thousands of drawings and paintings that serve as a stage for the dance and music that flow from her hands,” said Connie Gibbons, editor of “Rita Blitt: Around and Round,” director of the Mulvane Art Museum and chief curator of the Rita Blitt Legacy Collection and Archive.
Blitt shared her ideas, but Gibbons mainly put the book together. “She really understands my work and it’s quite beautiful,” Blitt said.
This relationship began when the museum contacted Blitt. They wanted a gallery connected to their performing arts center and knew Blitt was looking for a home for her legacy collection. “Which was a perfect marriage for me,” Blitt said. The gallery opened in 2017.
“They are my favorite works that I was hanging onto. It was very important to me that they live together.” This helps show the groupings and connections between pieces and phases of work, she said. “I have works all over the world… but I just think they’re so strong together. They make a statement together.”
Blitt’s favorite pieces were living in a safe at a bank before they found their permanent home in Topeka.
Her legacy collection is now an educational resource and source of inspiration for other artists. “It’s sort of unbelievably wonderful. I couldn’t be happier… A community like Topeka, I understand, it’s very meaningful to them. It’s made a difference,” Blitt said.
A lifetime of dancing lines
Blitt started drawing when she was a toddler. She remembers drawing on frosted windows, cardboard, envelopes, wherever there was space. “Really I think my drawing, what I’m doing today, is an outgrowth of those drawings. But they were lines. They were dancing lines. I can trace my whole life story, my art career, through the development of the lines and all the influences through the years,” she said.
Her work reflects her emotions. “Since the ’60s I’ve let what’s in me just come out automatically. No forethought.” According to Blitt, she works very spontaneously, fast and minimally.
Blitt used to take inspiration from real life. She didn’t allow herself to work without subject matter until she felt the lines honestly and naturally.
The creation of one of Blitt’s most iconic pieces, her “Yellow Ball” sculpture was a turning point in her career. “When I walked up to it, I said to my husband, ‘This feels more like me than anything I’ve ever created.’ And I realized that those dancing lines were the essence of me.” That’s what she’s been doing ever since. Letting those lines flow.
She eventually came to draw with two hands at once. “And I felt like a dancer. One hand went one way and one the other,” Blitt said. She has even painted with her eyes closed. “It was the depth of emotion like a musician.”
Kansas City roots and planted seeds
Blitt grew up at Congregation Beth Shalom and raised her daughter at Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Blitt attended Paseo High School her freshman year. When her family moved to Brookside, she attended Southwest High School in the Kansas City Missouri School District.
Many KC Jewish organizations are close to Blitt’s heart, included are Hadassah, The Federation and Village Shalom.
According to Blitt, the Jewish Community Center campus may not have existed without her late husband — Irwin Blitt. He was instrumental in bringing people together to contribute the land for the campus and played a vital role in the building committee.
The pandemic altered many of Blitt’s plans for sharing her work. She had a show planned for April in Lenexa and another at the Kansas City Public Library in September. In August, Leawood planned to unveil a 26-foot sculpture she created. Her books signings across the world have been postponed too.
The Mulvane Art Museum is set to open a new exhibit of collections based on the contents of Blitt’s new book.
Blitt feels that art makes the world a better place. “It’s a window to the world with compassion. It brings out the humanity in the human being viewing art… since it brings me such joy, I want it to bring joy to others.”
To learn more about Rita and her latest book visit RitaBlitt.com. You can learn more about the Mulvane Art Museum at MulvaneArtMuseum.org.
You can pre-order "Rita Blitt: Around and Round" at https://www.amazon.com/Rita-Blitt-Mulvane-Art-Museum/dp/1732297843.