Meanings of abstract art : between nature and theory / edited by Paul Crowther and Isabel Wünsche.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Crowther, Paul, editor.

Wünsche, Isabel, editor.

Series:

Routledge advances in art and visual studies ; 2.

Routledge advances in art and visual studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art, Modern--20th century--Philosophy.

Art, Modern.

Philosophy.

Art, Abstract.

Nature (Aesthetics).

Physical Description:

ix, 300 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2012.

Summary:

"This book explores the relation of abstract art to nature. Traditional picturing and sculpture are based on conventions of resemblance between the work and that which it is a representation "of". Abstract works, in contrast, adopt alternative modes of visual representation, or break down and reconfigure the mimetic conventions of pictorial art and sculpture. Obviously this means that abstract art takes many different forms. However, this diversity should not mask some key structural features; these center on two basic relations to nature (understanding nature in the broadest sense to comprise the world of recognisable objects, creatures, organisms, processes, and states of affairs). The first involves abstracting from nature, to give selected aspects of it a new and extremely unfamiliar appearance. The second involves abstract art as the affirmation of a relatively unconstrained natural creativity that issues in new, autonomous forms that are not constrained by mimetic conventions. (Such creativity is often attributed to the power of the unconscious.)The book contains three categories of essays: 1) those on classical modernism (Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Arp, early American abstraction), 2) those on post-war abstraction (Pollock, Still, Newman, Smithson, Noguchi, Arte Povera, Michaux, postmodern developments), and 3) those of a broader art historical and philosophical scope"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Life into Art: Nature Philosophy, the Life Sciences, and Abstract Art / Isabel Wünsche Wünsche, Isabel 9

2 Mondrian's First Diamond Composition: Spatial Totality and the Plane of the Starry Sky / Marek Wieczorek Wieczorek, Marek 30

3 Man, Space, and the Zero of Form: Kazimir Malevich's Suprematism and the Natural World / Christina Lodder Lodder, Christina 47

4 The Role of Mathematical Structure, Natural Form, and Pattern in the Art Theory of Wassily Kandinsky: The Quest for Order and Unity / Christopher Short Short, Christopher 64

5 "We want to produce like a plant that produces a fruit": Hans Arp and the "Nature Principle" / Astrid Von Asten Asten, Astrid Von 81

6 Natural Forces and Phenomena as Inspiration and Meaning in Early American Abstraction / Herbert R. Hartel, Jr. Hartel, Herbert R., Jr. 97

7 Jackson Pollock: The Sin of Images / Elizabeth Langhorne Langhorne, Elizabeth 118

8 Clyfford Still's Regionalist Shamanism / Stephen Polcari Polcari, Stephen 135

9 "Man is Present": Barnett Newman's Search for the Experience of the Self / Eva Ehninger Ehninger, Eva 141

10 Nature, Entropy, and Robert Smithson's Utopian Vision of a Culture of Decay / John G. Hatch Hatch, John G. 158

11 Embodied Nature: Isamu Noguchi's Intetra Fountain / Dominika Glogowski Glogowski, Dominika 169

12 The Arte Povera Experience: Nature Re-Presented / Laura Petican Petican, Laura 184

13 Nature's Hand: Writing Abstraction in the Work of Henri Michaux / Birgit Mersmann Mersmann, Birgit 198

14 Abstract Art and Techno-Nature: The Postmodern Dimension / Paul Crowther Crowther, Paul 217

15 Art, Beauty, and the Sacred: Four Ways to Abstraction / Karsten Harries Harries, Karsten 241

16 The Complexities of "Abstracting" from Nature / Andrew Inkpin Inkpin, Andrew 255

17 Meaning in Abstract Art: From Ur-Nature to the Transperceptual / Paul Crowther Crowther, Paul 270.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780415899932

0415899931

OCLC:

730404070