Realism, Expressionism, Formalism, Modernism….There are a lot of -isms in the art world. I have always appreciated visual art because it s a window into another person. It is a window into the artist. I have felt that art can be the projection of oneself. To me, realism is a real as art can get. It is a perception of a realistic idea, person, or place. Expressionism seems to have more emotion in it, to me, than realism. It is a little more edgy and fantastical. The book describes formalism as artwork of form alone. Nothing else matters other than the form of the artwork.
I do agree with David Hume’s opinion that to merely see, feel, hear, smell or touch is not enough. We need to fully experience the art to understand its true meaning. And the meaning will differ from person to person. Only the artist can know its true meaning. A lot of art I have seen is very abstract and its hard to interpret, but then again maybe it is supposed to be that way.
Realism is more “here I am, this is what I look like without makeup” type art, while Expressionism is more “lets talk about our feelings” type art. Compared to Realism and Expressionism, I feel that formalism is very to the point and precise. “Bare bones, this is what I am made of and that’s it” type art. When I think of it all this way I think it’s easier for me to understand.
Post-modernism, I feel is the angry teenager of the artwork. It is in between two different artistic movements and it is rebelling. It is in between childhood and adulthood. It is the art that decides that it is going to wear grungy jeans, die their hair bright colors and get a tattoo as a response to not being allowed to. It is the teenager that doesn’t want to be anything like its parent, Modernisn. When I think of all the different movements this way I think it’s easier to understand.
In the end, not everyone will like the same piece of art. Some people will love it while some people will hate it. Everyone experiences it differently. I personally prefer older pieces of art versus the newer (and stranger) art of today. This doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate all types of art. All we can do in the end is take it all in and look at the wonder of what someone else took the time to create.