Max Anderson: In this painting, Georgia O'Keeffe presents natural forms from a strange new perspective. Her abstract arrangement of colors and shapes suggests a flower, a landscape, or even a woman's body. But notice the title of the painting: Music—Pink and Blue II. Why do you think O'Keeffe referred to the painting as music? The painting, like a musical composition, uses harmony and rhythm to create a mood or a feeling. O'Keeffe was part of a generation of American artists who wanted to liberate the self from the overwhelming pragmatism and rationalism of the age. They aspired to accomplish, in visual terms, what music did so perfectly—using a language of pure abstraction to express the intangible, the intuitive, and the emotional. They saw the natural world as a place of spiritual renewal.