Formalism and Post-Modernism

This weeks reading provided a very interesting comparison between Formalism and Postmodern Pluralism.  The philosophies behind each form of art differ on a fundamental level.  In Why is That Art? the authors do a nice job of positioning these forms of art and giving both a theoretical and practical application of each.  I’ll start with formalism.

Formalism emphasizes the form and uses of the form, not the subjects.  It isn’t about the lines drawn across the transparentized woven paper in Martin’s Untitled.  It is more so about the mood she creates through the different uses of form.  She is more concerned with “the form, radical abstraction, a belief in the artistic progress, an intent to provide aesthetic experience, a striving for the sublime, an acceptance of the autonomy of art, and belief in artistic originality.” (Barrett, 119)  Formalistic art is truly art for the sake of art.  Martin believed that anything could be painted without representation, again placing an emphasis on form over subject.  Another artist fond of formalism, Shapiro, gives a nice example of how formalism can affect art.  He is most known for his sculptures, and discusses how an important event in our nation’s history shifted his approach at art.  After 9/11 the form on his sculptures shifted to a more chaotic nature.  It is less about the wood he placed together, and more about the shapes they created.

Now, moving on to Postmodern Pluralism, a stark contrast to Formalism.  Formalism emphasizes order, form, etc. while Postmodernism emphasizes ambiguity, disorder, and frenzy.  Postmodernism asks the viewer to look beneath the surface and even then, the answer might not be clear.  There is no “Truth,” or in other words ultimate truth.  Contemporary critic, Eleanor Heartney, raises a very interesting argument about photographs and postmodernism.  Most people consider photographs some of the most “real” or true representations of subjects; however, she argues that since a “number of equally distinct prints can be made from a single photographic negative, there is no ‘original.’”  That is a very postmodern line of thought.  I think the idea of postmodern pluralism can best be summed up by the title of a Paul McCarthy sketch Pinocchio Pipenose with Donkey’s Ears on Toilet. To me, that says it all.  Two completely opposing philosophies of art, but both have an equally valuable role in art.