The Sublime in Visual Art: from the Romantic to the Postmodern Sublime
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Sławek Tadeusz. (1994). "Sublime Labours" : Blake, Nietzsche and the Notion of the Sublime
Title: "Sublime labours" : Blake, Nietzsche and the notion of the sublime Author: Tadeusz Sławek Sławek Tadeusz. (1994). "Sublime labours" : Blake, Nietzsche Citation style: and the notion of the sublime. W: T. Rachwał, T. Sławek (red.), "”The most sublime act” : essays on the sublime" (S. 28-42). Katowice : Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego TADEUSZ SLAWEK University o f Silesia “Sublime Labours” : Blake, Nietzsche and the Notion of the Sublime I In Jerusalem Blake inscribes the philosophy of sublime into the logic of contraries, the most powerful machinery of his thought. In the frontispiece of an early version of the poem we read that the landscape of Albion is for med by two principal “rocks” of “Sublime and Pathos” 1 which, however, are locked in a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, they are seats of so lidity, foundational rocks upon which The combination of pathos and sub lime could possibly signal Blake’s things can be built (“fix’d in the Earth”, allegiance to the 18th-century aes J. 1.4), but — on the other hand — they thetics. In 1696 John Dennis was are not readily available as such, their “led to reduce art to the expression solidity is suppressed by the “Spectrous of passion”, and in this way “the Power” of “reason” which “covers them sublime and the pathetic begin their long journey in each other’s com above”. There are, at least, two impor pany”. tant consequences of such a positioning (W.H. Monk, The Sublime. A Study o f Critical of sublime. First, its foundational, ori- Theories in XVIII-Century England (New ginary, character must be validated by York: 1935), p. -
Ben Heller, Pioneering Collector of Abstract Expressionism: ‘There’S Nobody Else in That League’
Est. 1902 home • ar tnews • news Ben Heller, Pioneering Collector of Abstract Expressionism: ‘There’s Nobody Else in That League’ BY MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN March 3, 2021 11:00am Jackson Pollock paintings are returned to Ben Heller's Central Park West apartment in New York in April 1959. MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK/LICENSED BY SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK Ben Heller (https://www.artnews.com/t/ben-heller/), who died in 2019, amassed a legendary collection of Abstract Expressionism, supporting artists like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and others at a time when few else would. But before he dispersed his works to some of the world’s top museums, in particular the Museum of Modern Art (https://www.artnews.com/t/museum-of-modern-art/) in New York, he kept them in his Central Park West apartment. Thousands of visitors made the pilgrimage each year to his home to see masterpieces by the likes of Pollock, Rothko, Franz Kline, and Barnett Newman, with Rothko even referring to Heller’s apartment as “the Frick of the West Side.” When he began seriously collecting Abstract Expressionism during the ’50s, museums like MoMA largely ignored the movement. Heller rushed in headlong. “He wasn’t someone to say, ‘Let me take a gamble on this small picture so that I don’t really commit myself.’ He committed himself a thousand percent, which is what he believed the artists were doing,” Ann Temkin, chief curator of painting and sculpture at MoMA, said in an interview. Though Heller was never formally a board member at MoMA—“I was neither WASP-y enough nor wealthy enough,” he once recalled—he transformed the museum, all the while maintaining close relationships with artists and curators in its circle. -
The Role of the Sublime in Kant's Moral Metaphysics
Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change Series I, Culture and Values, Volume 18 The Role of the Sublime in Kant's Moral Metaphysics By John R. Goodreau The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy 1 Copyright © 1998 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Gibbons Hall B-20 620 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Goodreau, John R. The role of the sublime in Kant’s moral metaphysics / John R. Goodreau. p.cm. — (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series I. Culture and values ; vol. 18) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804. Kritik der Urteilskraft. 2. Kant, Immanuel, (1724-1804)— Contributions in concept of the sublime. 3. Sublime, the--History. 4. Asethetsics. I. Title. II. Series. B2784.G66 1998 98-47982 111’.85’092—dc21 CIP ISBN 1-56518-124-7 (pbk.) 2 Table of Contents Foreword ix Preface x Introduction 1 I. The Pre-Critical Years 17 II. The Emergence of the Critical Philosophy 47 III. The Critique of Judgment: The Beautiful 89 IV. The Critique of Judgment: The Sublime 133 V. After the Critique of Judgment 155 Conclusion 189 Bibliography 193 3 Foreword George F. McLean This work of Professor John Goodreau is topical, for the basic change of our times is its opening to the aesthetic dimension of human consciousness. To see this it is necessary to return to the beginning of the modern period. At that time it was the fashion to remove from the mind all except the clear and distinct ideas of technical reason. -
The Romantic and Contemporary Sublime the Idea of a Contemporary Or Postmodern Sublime Is Frequently Invoked in Discussions of Recent Art
The Romantic and Contemporary Sublime The idea of a contemporary or postmodern sublime is frequently invoked in discussions of recent art. How does the contemporary sublime differ from its Romantic manifestation? This is an outline of the evolving conceptions of the sublime since the 18th Century with reference to its key thinkers. + Unknown Limits The essay will compare the Contemporary Sublime to that of its Romantic predecessor and highlight re-emergence of the Sublime as the dominant aesthetic concept in Contemporary Art. It will demonstrate that Sublime aesthetics has always been a prime motivator for artistic expression, with the Contemporary Sublime purely the latest incarnation in a long continuum. I will illustrate through key examples of art that Sublime theory, be it Contemporary or Romantic, is a means of describing emotions and thoughts when faced with limitlessness, the uncontrollable and the unknown. To understand the Contemporary Sublime an examination of the Romantic Sublime is prerequisite. It was the ‘rediscovery’ and translation of the writings of First or Third Century AD Pseudo-Longinus in describing the Sublime experience of exultation that influenced the reintroduction of the Sublime as an aesthetic concept in the writings of Edmund Burke (1729 -1797). 1 Up until this time, the Sublime was an unnamed aspect of Beauty, with Beauty an emanation of God. Unlike Longinus’ spiritual explanation of the sublime, Bourke’s was a rational response. In his 1757 A Philosophical Enquiry into The Origin of our Ideas into the Sublime and the Beautiful Burke described the Sublime as “a state of the soul where all its motions are suspended with some degree of horror”. -
The Kantian Sublime: a Feeling of Superiority?
CHAPTER 8 The Kantian Sublime: A Feeling of Superiority? Gerbert Faure In this paper, I would like to reveal an ambiguity in the Kantian conception of the sublime experience. I will do this in an indirect manner by turning to a thinker whose views on the sublime are strongly influenced by Immanuel Kant: Friedrich Schiller. In his text Über das Pathetische, Schiller argues that the satisfaction of the sublime experience is ultimately grounded in the dis- covery of the faculty of freedom, whether this faculty is employed in moral or immoral actions. In this way, Schiller creates a gap between aesthetics and ethics which is absent in Kant’s theory of the sublime, but which nevertheless points to an ambiguity in the latter. Does Kant consider the sublime feeling to be pleasurable because it makes us realise that our moral principles can’t be affected by sensuous nature or because it makes us feel that the moral subject is superior and invulnerable? It will turn out that for Kant and Schiller these insights necessarily go hand in hand. Freedom and morality are inex- tricably bound up with each other through the notion of rationality. Arthur Schopenhauer will abandon this assumption and thus make room for a more plausible view that is expressed by Friedrich Nietzsche early on in his career: It is not the subject, but the object that is sublime. 1 Friedrich Schiller and the Separation of the Aesthetic and the Ethical Friedrich Schiller is famous for being a thinker of freedom, which is appar- ent in his plays as well as in his theoretical writings. -
Terror and the Sublime in the So-Called Anthropocene
Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies Vol. 16, No. 2 (2020) Terror and the Sublime in the So-Called Anthropocene Gene Ray The earthquake of Lisbon reached far enough to cure Voltaire of Leibniz’s theodicy, and the visibly comprehensible [überschaubare] catastrophe of first nature was insignificant compared to that of the second, social one, which defies human imagination since it readied real hell from human evil. —Theodor W. Adorno, Negative Dialectics In a rapidly warming world, the room for any modernist theodicy is as rap- idly disappearing. Climate science has made it plain what it would mean to let business as usual run its full course. —Andreas Malm, The Progress of this Storm In modern Western aesthetics, terror and the sublime go together. For canonical theorists and commentators of the eighteenth century, the sublime encounter with nature renders terror delightful, or at least enjoyable, through a “negative pleas- ure” variously derived. After the violence of mid-twentieth century, critical theo- rists of the sublime were more certain than ever about the involvement of terror, but some accounts of the negative pleasure did not survive the Second World War. Renewed reflection on the sublime after 1945 has clarified the social context and historical character of this aesthetic category. The feeling has changed, as modernity has unfolded, and as the relations and interactions between society and Gene Ray is Associate Professor in the CCC Research Master Programme at HEAD – Genève/ Geneva School of Art and Design. He writes about the cultural politics of memory, political theory and Marxist aesthetics, in relation to planetary meltdown. -
Burke's Higher Romanticism: Politics and the Sublime
Burke’s Higher Romanticism: Politics and the Sublime William F. Byrne St. John’s University Introduction Both Edmund Burke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau can be grouped among the key thinkers of the eighteenth century. They are widely understood to be quite different from one another, and their outlooks—especially their political-philosophical views—are often contrasted by scholars. Among those who have profitably contrasted Burke with Rousseau is the early twentieth century lit- erary scholar and social critic Irving Babbitt. Babbitt famously fa- vors the “classic” over the “romantic”; he considers romanticism’s ethical and political implications to be destructive of society. He uses Rousseau as his prime representative of romanticism and of all that is wrong with it, and uses Burke as a foil in criticizing Rousseau. Although Babbitt never explicitly describes Burke’s thought as “classical,” Burke sometimes seems to serve as Babbitt’s primary representative of the “classical” perspective he champions. What is odd about Babbitt’s treatment of Burke and Rousseau Burke and is that Babbitt never points out that Burke is, himself, a romantic. Rousseau both Literary scholars and students of aesthetics have long grouped romantics. both Rousseau and Burke among the originators or articulators of the romantic tradition. Although it is Rousseau who is more widely associated with the romantic movement today, Burke’s WILLIAM F. BYRNE is Assistant Professor of Government and Politics at St. John’s University and Associate Editor of HUMANITAS. 14 • Volume XIX, Nos. 1 and 2, 2006 William F. Byrne Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful was, for a century, almost ‘required reading’ for writers and artists of a romantic bent, or for anyone with an interest in romanticism, not just in the English-speaking world but on the Continent as well. -
The Contemporary Sublime and the American Landscape
Wayne State University Wayne State University Theses 1-1-2018 The Contemporary Sublime And The American Landscape Bernadette Miller Wayne State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_theses Part of the Fine Arts Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Miller, Bernadette, "The Contemporary Sublime And The American Landscape" (2018). Wayne State University Theses. 713. https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_theses/713 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. THE CONTEMPORARY SUBLIME AND THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE by BERNADETTE MILLER THESIS Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS 2018 MAJOR: ART HISTORY Approved By: Advisor Date © COPYRIGHT BY BERNADETTE MILLER 2018 All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations ......................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: American Romantic Landscapes and Kant ....................................................................8 Chapter 2: Sublimity -
The Armory Show - 1913
The Armory Show - 1913 Exhibition of painting and sculpture held in New York City. Of the 1,600 works assembled, one-third were European, tracing the evolution of modern art from Francisco de Goya to Picasso and Kandinsky. The show exposed the American public for the first time to advanced European art. Despite the critical turmoil, more than 500,000 people viewed the Armory Show in New York, Chicago, and Boston. American Scene Painting (1920s-50s): This is an umbrella term covering a wide range of realist painting, from the more nationalistic Regionalists (the painters of the Midwest) to the left wing Social Realists. They had in common the preference for illustrational styles and their contempt for “highbrow” European abstract. GRANT WOOD (Regionalist) American Gothic (Depict an Iowa farmer and his daughter) 1930. Oil on beaverboard, 2’ 5 7/8” x 2’ 7/8”. Art Institute of Chicago. World War II (1939 – 45) International conflict principally between the Axis Powers — Germany, Italy, and Japan — and the Allied Powers — France, Britain, the U.S., the Soviet Union, and China. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rocket and the atomic bomb. World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Over 60 million people were killed. It ended in 1945, leaving a new world order dominated by the U.S. and the USSR From top left: Marching German police during Anschluss, emaciated Jews in a concentration camp, Battle of Stalingrad, capture of Berlin by Soviets, Japanese troops in China, atomic -
Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime and Other Writings CAMBRIDGE TEXTS in the HISTORY of PHILOSOPHY
This page intentionally left blank CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY IMMANUEL KANT Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime and Other Writings CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY Series editors KARL AMERIKS Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame DESMOND M. CLARKE Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University College Cork The main objective of Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy is to expand the range, variety, and quality of texts in the history of philosophy which are available in English. The series includes texts by familiar names (such as Descartes and Kant) and also by less well-known authors. Wherever possible, texts are published in complete and unabridged form, and translations are specially commissioned for the series. Each volume contains a critical introduction together with a guide to further reading and any necessary glossaries and textual apparatus. The volumes are designed for student use at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and will be of interest not only to students of philosophy but also to a wider audience of readers in the history of science, the history of theology, and the history of ideas. For a list of titles published in the series, please see end of book. IMMANUEL KANT Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime and Other Writings PATRICK FRIERSON Whitman College PAUL GUYER University of Pennsylvania PATRICK FRIERSON Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge ,UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/ Cambridge University Press This publication is in copyright. -
The Desire for the Ineffable: on the Myth of Music As Absolute
The desire for the ineffable: on the myth of music as absolute W. Froneman School of Music Potchefstroom Campus North-West University POTCHEFSTROOM E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The desire for the ineffable: on the myth of music as absolute This article proposes to establish and critique connections between religious and musico-aesthetic conceptions of in- effability by exploring the link between neoplatonic thought and romantic aesthetics. The central thesis is that recourse to the ineffable is often made by resorting to theological tenets and, consequently, that romantic aesthetics, although desperately trying to disengage itself from theological thinking, can in fact be interpreted as being inextricably bound up with it. Taking Plotinus’ conception of the relationship between the “One” and “Intellect” as model, the romantic conception of the absolute is revealed to be a fallacy. It is shown that claims of the ineffability of music not only locate music as a false absolute, but also confer on music a quasi-religious authority. This results in an ungrounded secular faith in the power of music and the mastery of its composer-god to lead mankind to the truth. Untangling the myths of ineffability leads the way to a detranscendentalised conception of music with performance at its centre. Opsomming Die soeke na die onsegbare: oor die mite van musiek as die absolute Hierdie artikel poog om konneksies tussen religieuse en musiek-estetiese beskouings oor die onsegbare uit te wys en te kritiseer, deur die gebruik van die term in onderskeidelik neo- platoniese en romantiese denke te ondersoek. Die sentrale hipotese is dat ’n diskoers rondom die onuitspreeklike dikwels op teologiese uitgangspunte moet steun en gevolglik, dat die Koers 74(1 & 2) 2009:1-22 1 The desire for the ineffable: on the myth of music as absolute romantiese estetika geïnterpreteer kan word in ’n nóú verbin- tenis met teologiese denke, ten spyte van ’n amper desperate poging tot die teendeel. -
Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art
MODERN ART AND IDEAS 7 1950–1969 A Guide for Educators Department of Education at The Museum of Modern Art ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND POP ART Artists included in this guide: Helen Frankenthaler, Richard Hamilton, Jasper Johns, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Charles Moore, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. A NOTE TO EDUCATORS 2. USING THE EDUCATORS GUIDE 3. SETTING THE SCENE 7. LESSONS Lesson One: Revolutions in Painting Lesson Two: Color and Environment Lesson Three: Transforming Everyday Objects Lesson Four: Art and Politics Lesson Five: Artist’s Choice: People 29. FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION 32. GLOSSARY 34. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES 36. MoMA SCHOOL PROGRAMS No part of these materials may be reproduced or published in any form without prior written consent of The Museum of Modern Art Design © 2007 The Museum of Modern Art, New York A NOTE TO EDUCATORS This is the seventh volume in the Modern Art and Ideas series for educators, which explores 1 the history of modern art through The Museum of Modern Art’s rich collection. While tra- A NOTE TO EDUCATORS ditional art historical categories are the organizing principle of the series, these parameters are used primarily as a means of exploring artistic developments and movements in con- junction with their social and historical context, with attention to the contribution of specific artists. The guide is informed by issues posed by the selected works in a variety of mediums (paint- ing, sculpture, prints, photography), but its organization and lesson topics are created with the school curriculum in mind, with particular application to social studies, visual art, his- tory, and language arts.