Art Theory

Art Theory and it's History

Hi everyone! So I decided to make an art theory thread, starting with history of art theory and then hopefully moving forward to contemporary theory! i know most folks here aren't very fine art oriented, so it might be a lone interest, but i would still love to share this with you guys and who knows, maybe someone finds its interesting! i think a lot of people feel putt off by art theory, but it's honestly a really interesting field that makes you examine your perspective not just about art, but how you see the world.

Currently I'm reading (or properly re-reading) Herschel B. Chipp's "Theories of Modern Art", so for a while I intend to upload some segments, ponder on them a bit, and then if anyone would like join in a discussion - please do! If you never read a comprehensive art history book that talks about the ideas behind works I truly recommend "The Story of Art" by Ernst Gombrich. It truly reads like a story, with wonderful insights and covers a good amount of art history!

okay, onto the modern art segments! mr. chipp starts with post impressionism, so i selected the intro to symbolism to share here. its great insight into the slow and gradual progression towards art that was more free!



some of the things i find interesting here:

• the relationship being formed between visual artists and writers! from this period onward, the two become more and more intertwined. here it seems to be more a sense of kinship, but as time goes on the lines blur more and a lot of artist take an in-between position, writing theory about movements they are participating in
  
• strong reaction to a previous movement starts going at a rapid pace in 20th century art! it didn't start with it, but i definitely crystalizes with it. a lot of these movements become more sympathetic when you se exactly what the artists were reacting to. how strongly the symbolists emphasize subjectivity makes sense considering how rigid the work surrounding them was. when i first started examining this, the way that the human figure became progressively more abstract trough time became a lot more compelling
  
• art history certainly isnt as linear as we sometimes imagine it, or have to temporarily imagine it in order to get some sense of it. still, it truly is wonderful seeing how artists built on top of each others ideass, and if some didnt not have the courage to paint more boldly, a lot of the works we love today wouldnt have been possible
  
• these developments in modern art are deeply intertwined with colonialism. a massive influence on european modern artists was the art of various indigenous peoples, which the artists were able to see due to colonialism. in this case particularly we are talking about various culture from oceania. unsurprisingly the way these cultures were written about was gross - primarily they were written about as 'noble savages.' still, the respect for the work they made was genuine. modern art history wouldn't have been possible without these influences.
  
• historical context is a fun thing to know for these movements! in relation to some previous things i wrote, fin de siecle held french artists by the throat, so everyone was a bit bummed out. not hard to imagine that in this atmosphere, they were drawn to a very subjective/spiritual approach to art.
  
• paul gauguin sucks so hard. genuinely a piece of shit. that's why i put that grey square on the last page. its not the time for gauguin. sadly i do visually enjoy a lot of his work, a fact that haunts me.
  
• cezanne is great because i support his recluse hermit personality. im biased so i might post some of his writing!
  
• who you know in the art world becomes progressively more and more important throughout modernism.
  
• its been a bit since i read this particular segment so my observations might be more general than specific
  

i'll keep uploading these with time, because why not! and i would love to chat with anyone about this if they feel like it cheers everyone!