Art is such a broad concept, and any attempt to define or classify the medium is a challenge within itself. However, Terry Barrett does an awesome job in What is ThatArt? of splitting art up in to four categories, Formalism, Postmodernism, Realism, and Expressionism. Formalism and Postmodernism art forms interested me due to the stark contrast between the two.
Formalism is a theory of art that looks at the “form” of a piece of art, or how it is made. Emphasis is placed on visual aesthetics such as lines, shapes, colors, and textures of the piece. Formalists believe a particular piece of art should be able to stand alone based on its aesthetics, without any consideration of constructs pertaining to outside factors such as society or culture. It’s all about the form, and the form alone; nothing else matters to a formalist.
I have a hard time following the formalist approach of “Art for the sake of art”. When I look at a piece of artwork I always try to decipher the meaning behind it. I ponder questions such as “what was happening in society when the artist created this piece?” “What cultural message does the artist attempt to share with this piece?” “What does this piece of art say about the artist?” “What struggles or situation was the artist experiencing when he/she made the piece?” Thats what makes art such a powerful medium. But than again, who am I to judge?
The formalism theory is in class of it’s on, with only one close relative, Modernism. But for other theories of art such as Realism and Expressionism (which encourages you to seek further meaning behind a piece), formalism is, I hate to say it, boring. Or at least thats what I thought when I first heard about this approach. But then I thought about the people who are in love with the elements that make art; the people who are in love with the way lines intersect and the way colors collide. Even I can relate to that feeling as a digital designer. I love typography just because of how beautiful it is. I don’t think about what the creator was doing, thinking, or experiencing when they crafted the font. I just love the way it looks when it comes to my designs. It’s the same thing with layout and colors, and all the other elements that go into web design. So I guess I can see the point in the Formalist approach to art.
Let’s look at one of its opposites, Postmodernism, or better yet, Anti-Modernism. Postmodernism is hard to explain. The ambiguity of the term is purposeful. Some people don’t even know how to categorize it- is it a theory, concept, philosophy, movement, condition, etc…? But one thing that can be said about Postmodernism is the assertion that art plays a bigger part in our social, political, and ethical world, and it should be examined beyond its visual aesthetics.
When I think of the philo-theo-concept-ment (my attempt to categorize Postmodernism) I see it as a rebellion against Modernism which attempted to classify art. It rejects the existence of any ultimate principles, and it disagrees with the Modern notion of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody. Some art forms that rose out of the idea of postmodernism include Pop Art (one of my favorites with the great Andy Warhol), Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism.
Then there is Realism and Expressionism which are exactly what the name implies. These two forms of art share some similarities and differences with Postmodernism and Formalism. For example, both Formalism and Realism seem to want you to pay attention to the piece of art and how it’s made. However, for Formalism, it stops there, while Realism wants you to think about what the piece of art tells you about the world (similar to Postmodernism). Expressionism shares similarities with Postmodernism and Realism because it encourages you to seek deeper meaning behind the world; however, Expressionism wants you to look at the emotions of the artist in the work of art. Expressionism is not limited to portraying the real world like the theory of Realism.
Although I’m not an art connoisseur, I enjoy looking at art because I enjoy digital and graphic design. Both digital and graphic design are a form or art, so one has to know the roots of their passions. When I look at pieces such as Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red, I attempt to translate it and use it for inspiration. With so many years of art and great artists, the inspiration is unlimited. I appreciate Barrett’s attempt to help explain and categorize the medium into four simple, yet complex categories.