An Introduction to Form and Formalism in Modern Art
Subject Areas : Philosophy of art
Keywords: Kant, Greenberg, Form, Formalism, Art Critique,
Abstract :
This article, mainly intends to survey the concepts of form and formalism, and their reflection in visual arts as a basic branch of modernist movement. In order to do so, the method of a contemporary theorist and critic, i.e. Greenberg's formalistic criticism, will be analyzed. According to formalism, says Greenberg, it is formal characteristics that constitute an artwork, thus its content would be the outcome of the realization of the form. Hence, the content of an artwork is a function of the formal elements. Greenberg bases his formalistic criticism on Kant's Critique of Judgment. Kant considered for art an independent distinct arena, which led to the 'Art for Art's Sake' movement in the formalistic art. Moreover, Greenberg's view on form was reinforced by Kant's Third Moment. He formulates his formalistic criticism on the basis of the concepts of autonomy and independence. In fact, Greenberg makes the Third Critique functional, regarding it as the philosophical foundation of modernism in general and formalism in particular. This article will consider the major elements of Kant's Third Critique concerning the form and formalism, and also their impacts on Greenberg; it will analyze his innovations in the field of art criticism, specially painting. Furthermore, it will explain the reasons why formalism influenced the contemporary art criticism, and will articulate the influence of Greenberg, as a forerunner of this trend, on the modernist artists
کانت، ایمانوئل، نقد قوهى حکم، ترجمهى عبدالکریم رشیدیان، تهران، نشر نى، 1388ش.
Bell, C., Art, London, Arrow Books, 1961.
Idem, “Art as Significant Form”, Aesthetics: A Critical Anthology, Dickie, G. & Sclafani, R. J.(eds.), New York, St. Martin's Press, 1977.
Budd, M.,“Formalism”, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, New York, Routledge, 1998.
Carroll, N., Art in Three Dimensions, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010.
Croce, B., Guide to Aesthetics, South Bend, Ind., Regnery Gateway, 1979.
Fichner- Rathus, L., Understanding Art: A Concise History, Belmont CA, Wadsworth Press, 2008.
Fry, R., Transformations: Critical and Speculative Essays on Art, Chatto & Windus, London Press, 1926.
Idem, Last Lectures, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1939.
Greenberg, C., “Feeling is All”, Partisan Review,Jan-Feb, 1952, pp.97-102.
Idem, “Modernist Painting”, The Collected Essays and Criticism, John O'Brein(ed.), Chicago, University of Chicago Press, Vol IV, 1993.
Isenberg, A., “Formalism”, Aesthetics and the Theory of Criticism, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1973.
Kant, I., Critique of Judgment, Bernard, J. H.(ed.), NewYork, Hafner Press, 1951.
Idem, Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, Friedman, M.(ed.), U.K: Cambridge university press, 2004.
Kieran, M., Revealing Art, London, New York, Routledge, 2005.
Krukowski, L., “Formalism: Conceptual and Historical Overview”, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1988.
Prez-Gomez, A., Introduction to Architecture and Crisis of Modern Science, Cambridge, The MIT Press, 2000.
Tatarkiewicz, W., “Form in the History of Aesthetics”, Dictionary of History ofIdeas, Wiener, P.(ed.), New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968.
Van den Braembussche, A., Thinking Art, Belgium, Free University of Brussels, 2009.
Vasko, Z., “The Arts and the Authentic Learner”, SFU Educational Review, 1, 2007, pp.11-16.
Wollheim, R., Formalism and it's Kinds, Barcelona, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, 1995.