DOCSLIB.ORG

Cézanne, Poussin and the Dual Meaning of Classicism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cézanne, Poussin and the Dual Meaning of Classicism CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Warwick Research Archives Portal Repository University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/34556 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. Seeing as Sensing: The Structuring of Bodily Experience in Modern Pictorial Art by Laura Anne Hutchinson A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the History of Art University of Warwick, Department of the History of Art October 2010 Contents Acknowledgements 4 Author‟s Declaration 5 Abstract 6 List of illustrations 7 INTRODUCTION Vision, History and Style i. What is Specifically „Visual‟ about Pictures? 16 ii. Nature and Nurture 19 iii. Representation and Recognition 23 iv. The Pattern of Drawing Development 26 v. Ways of Seeing and Ways of Picturing 30 CHAPTER ONE Cézanne, Poussin and the Dual Meaning of Classicism 1.1 The Paradox of Cézanne‟s Classicism 34 1.2 Wölfflin and Classical Art 43 1.3 Classicism as Style 46 1.4 The Dual Meaning of Classicism 53 1.5 Nature and Self in Primordial Vision 60 1.6 The Grammar of Representation 65 CHAPTER TWO Perceptual Regimes in Trompe l’œil and Cubism: Deception and Evocation 2.1 Fooling the Eye or Fooling the Body? 75 2.2 The Deceptive Devices of Trompe l‟œil Art 78 2.3 The Spaces of Trompe l‟œil and their Relation to Cubism 84 2.4 The Phenomenology of Perception 88 2.5 The Phenomenology of Touch and the Aesthetics of Trompe l‟œil 93 CHAPTER THREE Seeing as Thinking and Seeing as Sensing 3.1 Introduction 98 3.2 Cubist Painting and „Seeing How‟ 99 3.3 Visualised Thinking and the Renaissance Tradition 102 3.4 The Dual Visual System Hypothesis 109 3.5 The Interrelation between Philosophy and Science 114 2 CHAPTER FOUR The Varieties of Visual and Pictorial Space 4.1 Introduction 119 4.2 The Cues of Dorsal and Ventral Stream Processing 120 4.3 The Spatiality of Seeing and the Spatiality of Picturing 130 4.4 Allocentric Space 135 4.5 The Anomaly of Linear Perspective 141 4.6 Children‟s Drawing Development 146 4.7 Cézanne and the Resculpting of Pictorial Space 157 4.8 Picturing Tactility: The Visuomotor Cues of Early Cubism 161 CHAPTER FIVE Meaning and Motor Intentionality in Synthetic Cubism 5.1 The Motivation of the Sign 168 5.2 The Mutability of the Sign: Picasso‟s Violin 173 5.3 Picasso‟s Metaphor: Violin and Sheet Music 178 5.4 The Bodily Phenomenology of Synthetic Cubism 182 5.5 Cubism Divided: Picasso and Braque 191 5.6 The Semantics and Pragmatics of Picasso‟s Cubism 197 CONCLUSION From Two Dimensions to Three: The Legacies of Pictorial Phenomenology 6.1 Style Versus Viewing 208 6.2 From Collage to Construction 211 6.3 The Aesthetics of Dis/orientation 215 6.4 Physicalised Seeing, Phenomenology and Art 221 Illustrations 223 Bibliography 268 3 Acknowledgements ` I am grateful to the staff at the Department of the History of Art at Warwick University and in particular to my supervisor, Paul Smith, whose advice has been invaluable over the duration of this thesis. Many friends have also contributed to this project, some much more than they know. Special thanks are due to Vivienne Edkins, Tristam Jones, Jay Butcher and Natalie Rankin. Finally, and above all, I am indebted to my family for their patience and understanding and to Edward Bergin for his constant encouragement, unfailing wisdom and continual support. 4 Author‟s Declaration I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University. The work is original except where indicated by specific reference in the text, and no part of the thesis has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Warwick. The thesis has not been presented to any other university for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas. 5 Abstract Two main arguments are developed in this thesis: first is the claim that our ability to make and understand representational pictures has a natural basis in our capacity to see. In this respect, I have drawn on the ideas of the visual scientist, David Marr and on the theory of representation expounded by John Willats. Second, I argue that the view articulated by these theorists forms a theoretical backdrop for, but does not satisfactorily explain, how pictures may heighten our sense of bodily presence. A central aim of this thesis is therefore to show how this mode of expression is also non-arbitrarily linked to the process of seeing by virtue of its relationship with our visuomotor capacities. In order to give substance to these ideas, I have attempted to weave together knowledge of art history with neuropsychological evidence and phenomenological philosophy. In applying this view to the work of particular artists, I have largely focussed on the oeuvre of Cézanne and the Cubists. However, the general form of this argument is intended to have wider implications, indicating the development of a stylistic tendency in modern art and showing how it differs from that of the Renaissance tradition. In conclusion, my thesis expresses the view that vision – and hence representation – can be divided along two separate lines: one related to a conceptual form of seeing and the other related to a bodily form of perception. The „crisis of representation‟ in the late nineteenth century is therefore considered indicative of a rejection of the former mode of visuality. Instead, modern artists are said to re-structure the viewing experience so that it shows the reliance of sight on the body, thus permitting the beholder a more active and constitutive role in the perception of art. 6 List of Illustrations Illustrations of artworks are ordered numerically and are reproduced at the end of this thesis; diagrams, tables and other illustrative materials are ordered alphabetically and are inserted where they are mentioned in the text. Introduction: Vision, History and Style 1. Picasso, Colombe de la Paix, 1962. Coloured Lithograph 59 x 76 cm From the series advertising the World Congress for General Disarmament Limited edition of 8,000 prints 2. Palaeolithic cave painting c. 15, 000 to 10, 000 B.C. Lascaux, France 3. Brook Taylor Standard Perspective Heuristic Illustration from New Principles of Linear Perspective (London, 1719) A. Children‟s drawings of a table From John Willats (1977a); reproduced in Art and Representation (1997) Chapter 2: Cézanne, Poussin and the Dual Meaning of Classicism B. Duck-Rabbit Illusion. Joseph Jastrow, „The Mind‟s Eye‟ Popular Science Monthly 54, 299-312, 1899. 4. Raphael, Sistine Madonna, c. 1513 - 14 Oil on canvas 265 x 196 cm Gemäldgalerie Alte Meister, Dresden 5. Guido Reni, Madonna Enthroned with the Holy City of Bologna, 1631 Oil on canvas 382 x 242 cm Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna 7 6. Paul Cézanne, Still Life with a Cineraria (Pot de Fleurs sur une Table) c. 1878 – 1880 Oil on canvas 60 x 75 cm Private Collection (formerly Pellerin Collection) 7. Paul Cézanne, The Abduction, 1867 Oil on canvas 89.5 x 115.5 cm Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge 8. Paul Cézanne, Lac d’Annecy, 1896 Oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm The Courtauld Gallery, London 9. Nicolas Poussin, The Arcadian Shepherds, 1637 Oil on canvas 185 x 121 cm Musée de Louvre, Paris 10. Nicholas Poussin, Landscape with the body of Phoicon carried out of Athens, 1648 Oil on canvas 114 x 175 cm National Museum of Wales, Cardiff 11. Paul Cézanne, La Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine, c. 1885 – 87 Oil on canvas 67 x 92 cm The Courtauld Gallery, London 12. Claude Joseph Vernet, Shipwreck, 1759 Oil on canvas 96 x 134.5 cm Groeninge Museum, Bruges 13. Claude Monet, Impression: Sunrise, 1872 Oil on canvas 48 x 63 cm Musée Marmottan, Paris C. The shape information represented at each stage of visual processing Adapted from Marr (1982). „Computing and the Arts‟, http://www.doc.gold.ac.uk/~mas02fl/MSC101/Vision/Marr.html. 14. Georges Seurat, Le Pont de Courbevoie, 1886 – 87 Oil on canvas 45.7 x 54.6 cm 8 The Courtauld Gallery, London 15. Henri Matisse, Still Life with Shell, 1941 Pen and ink on paper 52.6 x 40.6 cm Private Collection 16. Pablo Picasso, Houses on the Hill, Horta de Ebro, Summer 1909 Oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm The Museum of Modern Art, New York 17. Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with the Gathering of the Ashes of Phocion, 1868 Oil on canvas 116.5 x 178.5 cm Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool 18. Paul Cézanne, The Gulf of Marseilles, seen from L’Estaque, c. 1886 – 90 Oil on canvas 73 x 100.3 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Chapter 2: Perceptual Regimes in Trompe l‟œil and Cubism: Deception and Evocation 19. Jan de Heem, Still Life with Parrots, late 1640s. Oil on canvas 150.5 x 115.5 cm. John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida 20. Adriaen van der Spelt and Frans van Mieris Trompe l’Oeil Still Life with a Flower Garland and Curtain, 1658 Oil on wood 46.5 x 63.9 cm Art Institute of Chicago 21.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cubism in America
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Sheldon Museum of Art Catalogues and Publications Sheldon Museum of Art 1985 Cubism in America Donald Bartlett Doe Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sheldonpubs Part of the Art and Design Commons Doe, Donald Bartlett, "Cubism in America" (1985). Sheldon Museum of Art Catalogues and Publications. 19. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sheldonpubs/19 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Sheldon Museum of Art at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sheldon Museum of Art Catalogues and Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. RESOURCE SERIES CUBISM IN SHELDON MEMORIAL ART GALLERY AMERICA Resource/Reservoir is part of Sheldon's on-going Resource Exhibition Series. Resource/Reservoir explores various aspects of the Gallery's permanent collection. The Resource Series is supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. A portion of the Gallery's general operating funds for this fiscal year has been provided through a grant from the Institute of Museum Services, a federal agency that offers general operating support to the nation's museums. Henry Fitch Taylor Cubis t Still Life, c. 19 14, oil on canvas Cubism in America .".. As a style, Cubism constitutes the single effort which began in 1907. Their develop­ most important revolution in the history of ment of what came to be called Cubism­ art since the second and third decades of by a hostile critic who took the word from a the 15th century and the beginnings of the skeptical Matisse-can, in very reduced Renaissance.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Ambrosio – Cubism and the Fourth Dimension To appear in Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, vol. 41, no. 2-3 Please cite from the published version Cubism and the Fourth Dimension Chiara Ambrosio Department of Science and Technology Studies UCL [email protected] Abstract: This article revisits the historiography of Cubism and mathematics, with a particular focus on Pablo Picasso’s uses of geometry at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. In particular, I consider the artistic appropriation of the concept of the fourth dimension, and its pictorial uses as a conduit for a conceptual reformulation of pictorial space. I investigate Picasso’s distinctive adoption of this geometric framework in relation to one of his 1909 experiments across painting and photography, and advocate the possibility of drawing novel historiographical lessons from Picasso’s work - lessons that bring the historiography of Cubism in a closer dialogue with recent debates in the historiography of science. I conclude with an appeal to consider the continued relevance of this past experiment in art and science when assessing the contemporary drive toward art-science collaborations, and use the case of Cubism and the fourth dimension as a springboard for a critical reflection on the future directions of art-science collaborations. Keywords: Cubism, Fourth Dimension, Art and Science, Interdisciplinarity Introduction “The new painters do not claim to be geometricians any more than painters of the past did. But it is true that geometry is to the plastic arts what grammar is to the art of the writer. Nowadays scientists have gone beyond the three dimensions of Euclidean geometry.
    [Show full text]
  • The Challenges of French Impressionism in Great Britain
    Crossing the Channel: The Challenges of French Impressionism in Great Britain By Catherine Cheney Senior Honors Thesis Department of Art History University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill April 8, 2016 Approved: 1 Introduction: French Impressionism in England As Impressionism spread throughout Europe in the late nineteenth century, the movement took hold in the British art community and helped to change the fundamental ways in which people viewed and collected art. Impressionism made its debut in London in 1870 when Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Durand-Ruel sought safe haven in London during the Franco- Prussian war. The two artists created works of London landscapes done in the new Impressionist style. Paul Durand-Ruel, a commercial dealer, marketed the Impressionist works of these two artists and of the other Impressionist artists that he brought over from Paris. The movement was officially organized for the First Impressionist Exhibition in 1874 in Paris, but the initial introduction in London laid the groundwork for promoting this new style throughout the international art world. This thesis will explore, first, the cultural transformations of London that allowed for the introduction of Impressionism as a new style in England; second, the now- famous Thames series that Monet created in the 1890s and notable exhibitions held in London during the time; and finally, the impact Impressionism had on private collectors and adding Impressionist works to the national collections. With the exception of Edouard Manet, who met with success at the Salon in Paris over the years and did not exhibit with the Impressionists, the modern artists were not received well.
    [Show full text]
  • The Decorative Landscape, Fauvism, and the Arabesque of Observation Author(S): Roger Harold Benjamin Reviewed Work(S): Source: the Art Bulletin, Vol
    The Decorative Landscape, Fauvism, and the Arabesque of Observation Author(s): Roger Harold Benjamin Reviewed work(s): Source: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Jun., 1993), pp. 295-316 Published by: College Art Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3045950 . Accessed: 01/10/2012 15:21 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. College Art Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Art Bulletin. http://www.jstor.org The Decorative Landscape, Fauvism, and the Arabesque of Observation Roger Benjamin Staging Place landscape, which is mediated by a variety of practices that constitute its particularity as a mode of communication. One I prefer looking at the backdrop paintings [decors] of the of these, of some importance in this account, is the way stage where I find my favorite dreams treated with landscape practice inflects a history of seeing by means of the consummate skill and tragic concision. Those things, so forms of landscape painting itself. Landscape as a scheme of completely false, are for that reason much closer to the representation, no less than the cartographic scheme of truth, whereas the majority of our landscape painters are map-making, is an artifice that is entangled in a forest of liars, precisely because they fail to lie.
    [Show full text]
  • NATALIA-GONCHAROVA EN.Pdf
    INDEX Press release Fact Sheet Photo Sheet Exhibition Walkthrough A CLOSER LOOK Goncharova and Italy: Controversy, Inspiration, Friendship by Ludovica Sebregondi ‘A spritual autobiography’: Goncharova’s exhibition of 1913 by Evgenia Iliukhina Activities in the exhibition and beyond List of the works Natalia Goncharova A woman of the avant-garde with Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, 28.09.2019–12.01.2020 #NataliaGoncharova This autumn Palazzo Strozzi will present a major retrospective of the leading woman artist of the twentieth- century avant-garde, Natalia Goncharova. Natalia Goncharova will offer visitors a unique opportunity to encounter Natalia Goncharova’s multi-faceted artistic output. A pioneering and radical figure, Goncharova’s work will be presented alongside masterpieces by the celebrated artists who served her either as inspiration or as direct interlocutors, such as Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Giacomo Balla and Umberto Boccioni. Natalia Goncharova who was born in the province of Tula in 1881, died in Paris in 1962 was the first women artist of the Russian avant-garde to reach fame internationally. She exhibited in the most important European avant-garde exhibitions of the era, including the Blaue Reiter Munich, the Deutsche Erste Herbstsalon at the Galerie Der Sturm in Berlin and at the post-impressionist exhibition in London. At the forefront of the avant- garde, Goncharova scandalised audiences at home in Moscow when she paraded, in the most elegant area of the city with her face and body painted. Defying public morality, she was also the first woman to exhibit paintings depicting female nudes in Russia, for which she was accused and tried in Russian courts.
    [Show full text]
  • Art of Tomorrow : Fifth Catalogue of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection
    A K SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION OF y . \ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Library and Archives http://www.archive.org/details/artoftomorrowfif1939gugg ' The theme center of the New York World's Fair owes its inspiration to this creation of Rudolf Bauer, "The Holy One," painted in 1936, exhibited and published in 1937 in the United States of America. ART OF TOMORROW RUDOLF BAUER FIFTH CATALOGUE OF THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION OF NON-OBJECTIVE PAINTINGS PART OF WHICH IS TEMPORARILY EXHIBITED AT 24 EAST 54 th STREET, NEW YORK CITY st 1 OPENING JUNE , 1939 SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION NEW YORK RUDOLF BAUER, No. 103, No. 104, No. 105, No. 106, "TETRAPTYCHON" Symphony in four movements. THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL RHYTHM A great epoch in art is started by genius who has the power to improve former accom- plishments and the prophecy to state the new ideal. Genius is a special gift of God to the elite of a nation. Great art is always advanced to the understanding of masses. Yet masses indirectly are benefited through the fame for culture which the advance guard of elite brings to them in the increase of their importance as a nation. There are thousands of people interested towards creating the importance of their century. When addressed to them, art is certain of response. In the coming millennium masses will profit by the prophetic cultural achievements of these thousands as courageous, honest, far-seeing creators influence the style of the earth of tomorrow. A highly developed taste, the most refined cultural expression of art can be acquired by anyone who is able to feel beauty.
    [Show full text]
  • Ekphrasis and Avant-Garde Prose of 1920S Spain
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies Hispanic Studies 2015 Ekphrasis and Avant-Garde Prose of 1920s Spain Brian M. Cole University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Cole, Brian M., "Ekphrasis and Avant-Garde Prose of 1920s Spain" (2015). Theses and Dissertations-- Hispanic Studies. 23. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/hisp_etds/23 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Hispanic Studies at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Lehman Papers
    Robert Lehman papers Finding aid prepared by Larry Weimer The Robert Lehman Collection Archival Project was generously funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc. This finding aid was generated using Archivists' Toolkit on September 24, 2014 Robert Lehman Collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY, 10028 [email protected] Robert Lehman papers Table of Contents Summary Information .......................................................................................................3 Biographical/Historical note................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents note...................................................................................................34 Arrangement note.............................................................................................................. 36 Administrative Information ............................................................................................ 37 Related Materials ............................................................................................................ 39 Controlled Access Headings............................................................................................. 41 Bibliography...................................................................................................................... 40 Collection Inventory..........................................................................................................43 Series I. General
    [Show full text]
  • Camille Pissarro's Jardinière (1884-1885) in the Context of His
    INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or “target” for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is “Missing Page(s)”. If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark, it is an indication of either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, duplicate copy, or copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed. For blurred pages, a good image of the page can be found in the adjacent frame. If copyrighted materials were deleted, a target note will appear listing the pages in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photographed, a definite method of “sectioning” the material has been followed. It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again-beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.
    [Show full text]
  • André Lhote and His International Students
    Zeynep Kuban, Simone Wille (eds.) André Lhote and His International Students innsbruck university press EDITED VOLUME SERIES innsbruck university press Zeynep Kuban, Simone Wille (eds.) André Lhote and His International Students Zeynep Kuban Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University Simone Wille Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Universität Innsbruck Austrian Science Fund (FWF): Project Number P 29536-G26 Gefördert durch das Vizerektorat für Forschung, den Forschungsschwerpunkt ‚Kulturelle Begegnungen – Kulturelle Konflikte‘ und das Dekanat der Philosophisch- Historischen Fakultät der Universität Innsbruck. Diese Publikation wurde mit finanzieller Unterstützung des Frankreich-Schwerpunkts sowie des Vizerektorats für Forschung der Universität Innsbruck gedruckt. © innsbruck university press, 2020 Universität Innsbruck 1st edition All rights reserved. Cover: The Academy around 1948: standing in the background, Solveig Olson; in front of Lhote, Olle Baertling (moustache and white handkerchief); to his left Günnel Heineman. In the centre (striped tie) Salah Yousry. In the background, right, Sabri Berkel and Eren Eyüboglu,˘ and at the top left, near the stove, Hasan Kavruk. Photo © Archives André Lhote © ADAGP. Layout: Romana Fiechtner www.uibk.ac.at/iup ISBN 978-3-903187-78-8 Table of Contents ZEYNEP KUBAN, SIMONE WILLE: Introduction and Acknowledgments ............ 7 DOMINIQUE BERMANN MARTIN: The Life of André Lhote ............................. 17 FANNY DRUGEON: From Paris to Mirmande, International Aspects of Lhote’s Academy through
    [Show full text]
  • Site Specifics: Modernist Mediums in Modern Places
    Site Specifics: Modernist Mediums in Modern Places Eugene Vydrin Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2013 © 2013 Eugene Vydrin All rights reserved ABSTRACT Site Specifics: Modernist Mediums in Modern Places Eugene Vydrin This dissertation argues that the modernist doctrine of medium specificity, the idea that the autonomy of the arts arises from artworks' investigation of the properties and limits of their materials, grounds artistic production in the place where it was produced. The identity of artistic mediums (writing, painting, sculpture, and land art) depends on their literal placement in physical, geographic environments. Medium specificity requires site specificity. In the aesthetic, art-historical discourses I consider — Gertrude Stein's account of Cubism, Soviet avant-garde writings on Constructivism, Robert Smithson's texts on landscape, earth art, and Minimalism — the mediums of art-making are located in places that serve simultaneously as construction sites, sources of raw materials, and models of aesthetic form. They are both the subject of representation and the representational means, the work's content, form, and substance. Art derives its physical properties, its subject matter, and its formal laws from the geography, topography, and geology of the sites at which it is made. Stein retroactively models Picasso's Cubism (and her own plays) on the spatial juxtaposition of houses and mountains in the Spanish landscape. Shklovsky discovers Constructivist principles (and those of his own formalist aesthetics) in the daily life of post-revolutionary St. Petersburg. Smithson finds a model for earth art and for the recovery of history from universal entropy in the “dialectical landscape” of Central Park.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: the Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk
    1 Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922 The Jewish Museum September 14, 2018-January 6, 2019 Wall Texts and Object Labels Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918–1922, is organized by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, in collaboration with the Jewish Museum, New York. Angela Lampe Curator of Modern Collections, Musée National d’Art Moderne Exhibition Curator Claudia J. Nahson Morris and Eva Feld Curator Supervising Curator for the Jewish Museum DONORS TO THE EXHIBITION The exhibition is supported through the Samuel Brandt Fund, the David Berg Foundation, the Robert Lehman Foundation, the Centennial Fund, and the Peter Jay Sharp Exhibition Fund. The publication is made possible, in part, by The Malevich Society. Nonflash, noncommercial photography for personal use is permitted in this exhibition except where the following symbol appears: #ChagallLissitzkyMalevich Exhibition design: Leslie Gill Architect Graphic design: Topos Graphics Lighting: Clint R. Coller Intern: Paulina Fedotova Research Assistant: Ori Hashmonay The companion volume to the exhibition is on sale in the Cooper Shop in the museum’s lobby. -- 2 Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918–1922 Introduction “I found myself in Vitebsk when the great celebrations of the October Revolution were over, but the city was still resplendent with Malevich’s designs—circles, squares, dots, and lines of different colors—and with Chagall’s flying people. I had the impression of being in an enchanted city, but in those days everything was wonderful, and everything was possible, and at that moment the people of Vitebsk had become Suprematists.” Sofia Dymshits-Tolstaia, 1921 This is the first major exhibition to explore a littleknown chapter in the history of the Russian avant-garde: Marc Chagall’s encounter with the leading figures of abstraction, El (Lazar) Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich, at the time of the Russian Revolution.
    [Show full text]