Formalist and Expressionist Concepts of Art - Essay Example

Formalist and Expressionist Concepts of Art as Viewed in the Works of Caravaggio, Norman Rockwell, Edouard Manet, and Barnett Newman Undoubtedly, reaching a formal definition of art has been one of the most contentious points for artists, art critics, and scholars alike. This is evident in the tumultous paradigm shifts in art history that have from formalism to expressionism, institutional art to the avant-garde, that have shaped, altered, defined, and changed human understanding and practice of art production and appreciation. Hence, it would be worthy to examine the influence of two of the most dominant perspectives in art, formalism and expressionism, on both artists and viewers alike as represented in the works of Caravaggio, Eduoard Manet, Barnet Newman, and Norman Rockwell. Formalism is one of the most influential concepts underpinning artistic theory and practice. According to formalist definitions of art, an object can only be considered as art if it is characterized by "significant form" (Warburton 21). Here, significant form is presumably the "combinations of lines and colours produced by human hands" that has the ability to "arouse us to the aesthetic emotion"(Ibid 12). Hence, the formalist definition of art argues that the aesthetic experience is an inherent quality of an artwork which is achieved through the artistic manipulation of forms-lines, colors, composition-to produce something that has the ability to provide art viewers a "glimpse of the structure of the world as it really is" (Ibid 13). Clearly, the formalist emphasis on the internal qualities of an artwork and its ability to reveal the inner nature of its subject point to the dominant framework that art should not be defined by its relationship to other things but be able to hold itself on its own. Consequently, an artwork has intrinsic value simply because it is art. Clive Bell argues this point by stating that "to appreciate a work of art we need bring with us nothing from life, no knowledge of its ideas and affairs, no familiarity with its emotions" (cited in Warburton 10) This contention accurately depicts the "art for art's sake" attitude taken by many artists and art critics subscribing to more formalist frameworks, which eschew the importance of representation and context in art production and art appreciation but judge the value of an art on its coherence, composition, and masterful use of forms. The influence of formalism on artists and their work is particularly evident in the paintings of the old masters. Caravaggio's fourteenth-century masterpiece "Bacchus," for instance, which shows the ancient diety as a drunken young man in a reclining pose, is interesting in the formalist sense not because of the artists' impressive ability for representation but for the manner by which the painting itself draws attention to the contours and shapes of the human body, as well as the contribution of the colors used by Caravaggio to lend warmth, depth, and meaning to his work. In the painting, Caravaggio uses the traditional techniques of portraiture to present to present a well-composed, balanced picture of Bacchus trying to cover his naked torso with drapery while offering a goblet of wine either to the painter or to the painting's viewers. This is achieved through the use of a color pallete dominated by muted red and green hues that direct the viewer's attention to Bacchus' face and then leads it to the hand offering the goblet. Likewise, Caravaggio uses mostly rounded shapes and contours that heighten the sense of organic, flowing quality of Bacchus' body, the wine, and the drapery. Caravaggio also creates depth by utilizing color techniques to create a sense of space within the painting using contrasts between light and dark colors. It is through the use of these elements that Caravaggio's picture of Bacchus becomes a thing of value in the formalist sense, since it is through the interaction between the forms in the painting that the artists' rendering of the deity evokes aesthetic feelings in the viewer. On the other hand, formalist principles of art and its techniques can also be seen in postmodern art. A notable example is Norman Rockwell's 1958 painting "The Runaway," which shows a boy and a police officer sitting side by side at a caf countertop while the another man leans from inside the countertop toward them. In this drawing, Rockwell's skills in formalist composition show through in his use of vertical and horizontal lines and contrasts in color density to achieve a sense of balance in his piece. For instance, he uses the horizontal lines of the countertop and the vertical lines of the seats to convey the imbalance between the weight and imposing figure of the police officer in contrast to the slight figure of the runaway child. The use of heavy blue hues on the policeman's clothing also paints a stark contrast with the creams and grays of the caf environment, and the yellow tones on the child's shirt. However, Rockwell also uses a splash of bright red to counter the imposing color of the police officer and to direct attention to the child and his bundle of clothes. Hence, Rockwell's work transcends its kitschy subject of the idealized relationship between the police and the youth when viewed from a formalist perspective. Here, the viewer's awareness of "The Runaway" is directed to the manner by which lines, colours, and other compositional aspects are utilized by the artist to achieve coherence and beauty in his painting and to provide an aesthetic experience for the viewer, which supercedes concerns of the artist's purpose or intended message in providing artistic value for "The Runaway." In contrast with formalism, those who espouse expressionism in the arts emphasize the value of an artwork's ability to express and reflect the emotions of an artist, and to influence the emotions of viewers. In a sense, expressionism rebels against the formalist tradition of art by shifting away the focus from the idea of perfection in forms to the concept of dissolution of forms to depict and provoke intense feelings. Hence, expressionists broke formalist principles of composition by distorting and blurring lines, eschewing balance in favor of lines and colors that aimed to capture artist's emotions or the "perturbation or excitement, which he feels going on within him, but of whose nature he is ignorant" (Warburton 50). Consequently, expressionism viewed art and the aesthetic experience as a form of emotional release and at the same time the clarifying of complex emotions. From an expressionist perspective, an object has artistic value if it expresses the artist's subjective interpretation of the world and has the capacity to evoke emotions that may not be necessarily profound as formalists suggest, but are human. In the same manner, the expressionist focus on an artist's perceptual capacities as captured through his or her artwork also imply that expressionism valued the representational aspects of an artwork in judging its value and in deriving meaning from art. The concrete influence of expressionism on artists and their works is exemplified in Edouard Manet's 18th century watercolor/gouache "The Barricade." The painting, which shows the summary execution of the participants of the Paris Commune by French troops, is rendered by the artist in a sketchy way that distorts the human forms of both the communards and the soldiers and at the same time uses dark, heavy black and brown tones as if to convey the gloomy and depressing mood of the painting's subject. In the same manner, Manet also chooses to distort the faces of the victims, portraying the mob as a huge black blob descending on the soldiers in stark contrast with the skeletal buildings at the background of his painting, which expresses the sense of ambiguity and incomprehension of the artist at the horrifying incident. Hence, the sketchy, hurried way by which Manet appears to have composed "The Barricade" conveys a sense of urgency and turmoil to its viewers. It also suggests feelings of hopelessness through the use of bleak colors and heavy lines. Contrary to Caravaggio or Rockwell's artworks, Manet's painting does not use formal notions of balance or even perspective and deliberately ignores the use of contours and lines in a manner that would provide coherence in the piece. Instead, Manet attempts to disturb the viewer's sense of space by creating dissonance in his lines and texture and utilizing morbid colors. The same focus on emotions is found in Barnett Newman's abstract painting "Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue" which shows the canvas vertically divided into three vibrant colors of red, yellow, and blue. In this work, Newman foregoes form for substance by playing with the effects of the pure colors he uses in his artwork. The dominant color in this painting is red, which expresses heightened emotions of anger and passion, which is bounded on the sides with yellow and blue, which signify warm and cold emotions, respectively. Hence, "Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue" depicts the artist's own discomfort with the emotions associated with the vibrant red, yellow, and blue colors in a way that the artist himself cannot explain the source of such emotions. At the same time, Newman's colors have the effect of producing a claustrophobic sense in its space, which emphasizes the intense agitation that the combination of these colors can bring out in the audience. The aesthetic experience in Newman's painting is therefore achieved through the emotional catharsis achieved by the artist in art production as posited by the expressionists, and the emotional effects of the artwork on its viewers. Thus, although both the formalist and expressionist frameworks of art agree that the purpose of art is the production of the aesthetic experience, these two frameworks differ in their concept of what constitutes the aesthetic experience. The formalist conception of art locates artistic value of an artwork on the inherent properties of an artwork that enables it to contain "significant form" while the expressionists see art as a mode of expression and artistic value as art's capacity to express the emotions of an artist and to evoke emotions in the artwork's audience. Works Cited: Caravaggio, Michaelangelo. Bacchus. 1595. Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 23 November 2008. Manet, Edouard. The Barricade. 1871. Szepmuveseti Muzeum, Budapest, Hungary. 23 November 2008. < http://www.abcgallery.com/M/manet/manet90.html> Newman, Barnett. Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue 1966. 23 November 2008. Read More