Conrad Bo Superblur explains Clement Greenberg's influence on the Superblur Art Movement
Clement Greenberg had a huge influence on how we view art today. His writings has shaped the art that is even produced today. I first became aware of him when I watched the film Pollock, starring Ed Harris.
His character in the movie played by Jeffrey Tambor, constantly said it is just paint, it is just paint. I had the idea that he was a great Champion for Abstract Expressionism, and that he almost obsessively promoted that Artists that he liked. As you can see with my writing so far is that I am obviously not an expert on Clement Greenberg, but his Caracter in the movie had a big impact on me, so much so that I constantly thought that I must become more like him.
Artists in general and obviously there are exceptions, rather would like somebody else promote their work and sing their praises than doing it themselves and I think this is where Clement Greenburg played a very major and important role for the Abstract Expressionists and Post Painterly Abstraction artists. Because he was not a professional artist himself he could look at the work objectively and not subjectively and promote it like very few other could because he is on the outside looking in. Even if you do not know all the details of his spoken words and writings everyone gets a feeling that he was a great force steering the direction of American Modern Art at the time.
My personal opinion about Art Movements are, that new ideas in Art does not replace the old, but is an continuation. When Pop Art came on the scene it was not replacing Abstract Expressionism it was just a new way of looking at this amazing Entity called Art. In part the influence of Clement Greenberg in me creating the Superstroke Art Movement is definitely present. Obviously the Superstroke Art Movement led to the Superblur Art Movement and Hybridpointillism.
So all and all whatever your own opinion about Clement Greenberg is, the fact that the world is a better place because of his thoughts and writings are undeniable.
And one of my favorite quotes from Clement Greenberg is: "All profoundly original Art looks ugly at first."
Conrad Bo Hybridpointillism
21 January 2023
#clementgreenberg #abstractexpressionism #superblur #superstroke #hybridpointillism #conradbo
"Avant-Garde and Kitsch"[edit]
Though his first published essays dealt mainly with literature and theatre, art still held a powerful attraction for Greenberg, so in 1939, he made a sudden name as a visual art writer with possibly his most well-known and oft-quoted essay, "Avant-Garde and Kitsch", first published in the journal Partisan Review. In this Marxist-influenced essay, Greenberg claimed that true avant-garde art is a product of the Enlightenment's revolution of critical thinking, and as such resists and recoils from the degradation of culture in both mainstream capitalist and communist society, while acknowledging the paradox that, at the same time, the artist, dependent on the market or the state, remains inexorably attached "by an umbilical cord of gold". Kitsch, on the other hand, was the product of industrialization and the urbanization of the working class, a filler made for the consumption of the working class: a populace hungry for culture, but without the resources and education to enjoy cutting edge avant garde culture. Greenberg writes,
For Greenberg, avant garde art was too "innocent" to be effectively used as propaganda or bent to a cause, while kitsch was ideal for stirring up false sentiment.
Greenberg appropriated the German word "kitsch" to describe this low, concocted form of "culture", though its connotations have since been recast to a more affirmative acceptance of nostalgic materials of capitalist/communist culture.
Art history, Abstract Expressionism and after[edit]
Greenberg wrote several seminal essays that defined his views on art history in the 20th century.
In 1940, Greenberg joined Partisan Review as an editor. He became art critic for the Nation in 1942. He was associate editor of Commentary from 1945 until 1957.[5]
In December 1950, he joined the government funded American Committee for Cultural Freedom. Greenberg believed Modernism provided a critical commentary on experience. It was constantly changing to adapt to kitsch pseudo-culture, which was itself always developing. In the years after World War II, Greenberg pushed the position that the best avant-garde artists were emerging in America rather than Europe.[6] Particularly, he championed Jackson Pollock as the greatest painter of his generation, commemorating the artist's "all-over" gestural canvases. In the 1955 essay "American-Type Painting" Greenberg promoted the work of Abstract Expressionists, among them Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Hans Hofmann, Barnett Newman, and Clyfford Still, as the next stage in Modernist art, arguing that these painters were moving towards greater emphasis on the 'flatness' of the picture plane.
Greenberg helped to articulate a concept of medium specificity. It posited that there were inherent qualities specific to each different artistic medium, and part of the Modernist project involved creating artworks that were more and more committed to their particular medium. In the case of painting, the two-dimensional reality of their medium led to an increasing emphasis on flatness, in contrast with the illusion of depth commonly found in painting since the Renaissance and the invention of pictorial perspective.
In Greenberg's view, after World War II the United States had become the guardian of 'advanced art'. He praised similar movements abroad and, after the success of the Painters Eleven exhibition in 1956 with the American Abstract Artists at New York's Riverside Gallery, he travelled to Toronto to see the group's work in 1957. He was particularly impressed by the potential of painters William Ronald and Jack Bush, and later developed a close friendship with Bush. Greenberg saw Bush's post-Painters Eleven work as a clear manifestation of the shift from abstract expressionism to Color Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction, a shift he had called for in most of his critical writings of the period.
Greenberg expressed mixed feelings about pop art. On the one hand he maintained that pop art partook of a trend toward "openness and clarity as against the turgidities of second generation Abstract Expressionism." But on the other hand Greenberg claimed that pop art did not "really challenge taste on more than a superficial level."[7]
Through the 1960s Greenberg remained an influential figure on a younger generation of critics including Michael Fried and Rosalind E. Krauss. Greenberg's antagonism to 'Postmodernist' theories and socially engaged movements in art caused him to become a target for critics who labelled him, and the art he admired, as "old fashioned".
In his book "The Painted Word", Tom Wolfe criticized Greenberg along with Harold Rosenberg and Leo Steinberg, whom he dubbed the kings of "Cultureburg". Wolfe argued that these three critics were dominating the world of art with their theories and that, unlike the world of literature in which anyone can buy a book, the art world was controlled by an insular circle of rich collectors, museums and critics with out-sized influence.[8]
Post-painterly abstraction[edit]
Eventually, Greenberg was concerned that some Abstract Expressionism had been "reduced to a set of mannerisms" and increasingly looked to a new set of artists who abandoned such elements as subject matter, connection with the artist, and definite brush strokes. Greenberg suggested this process attained a level of "purity" (a word he only used within scare quotes) that would reveal the truthfulness of the canvas, and the two-dimensional aspects of the space (flatness). Greenberg coined the term Post-Painterly Abstraction to distinguish it from Abstract Expressionism, or Painterly Abstraction, as Greenberg preferred to call it. Post-Painterly Abstraction was a term given to a myriad of abstract art that reacted against gestural abstraction of second-generation Abstract Expressionists. Among the dominant trends in the Post-Painterly Abstraction are Hard-Edged Painters such as Ellsworth Kelly and Frank Stella who explored relationships between tightly ruled shapes and edges, in Stella's case, between the shapes depicted on the surface and the literal shape of the support and Color-Field Painters such as Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis, who stained first Magna then water-based acrylic paints into unprimed canvas, exploring tactile and optical aspects of large, vivid fields of pure, open color. The line between these movements is tenuous, however as artists such as Kenneth Noland utilized aspects of both movements in his art. Post-Painterly Abstraction is generally seen as continuing the Modernist dialectic of self-criticism.
Here is a ai description initiated by Conrad Bo Superblur:
Clement Greenberg (1909-1994) was an influential American art critic and curator who played a pivotal role in shaping the direction of art in the post-World War II era. Greenberg was known for his advocacy of Abstract Expressionism and his belief in the primacy of the formal elements of art, such as color, shape, and texture. His ideas about art and aesthetics continue to influence contemporary art and criticism.
Greenberg's early career as an art critic began in the 1930s, but it was his writing on Abstract Expressionism in the 1940s and 1950s that cemented his reputation as a leading voice in the art world. He championed the work of artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman, arguing that their work represented a new, pure form of art that was free from the constraints of representation and narrative.
One of Greenberg's most famous essays, "Avant-Garde and Kitsch" (1939), argued that modern art had a responsibility to challenge the cultural and artistic conventions of the past. He believed that the avant-garde should strive to create art that was "self-critical" and that rejected traditional notions of beauty and taste. This idea was a significant departure from the prevailing attitudes of the time, which tended to value art based on its ability to depict recognizable subjects or to conform to established aesthetic norms.
Greenberg's emphasis on the formal elements of art and his rejection of representation and narrative had a profound influence on the development of Abstract Expressionism. He argued that art should be experienced purely on its own terms, without reference to anything outside of itself. This idea was embodied in the work of artists like Pollock, whose drip paintings were meant to be experienced as pure fields of color and texture.
Greenberg's ideas about art and aesthetics were also influential in the development of Minimalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Minimalist artists such as Donald Judd and Dan Flavin emphasized the simple, geometric forms of their work, and rejected traditional notions of composition and design. Greenberg's emphasis on the formal elements of art and his belief in the power of simplicity and purity had a significant impact on the development of this movement.
In addition to his work as a critic, Greenberg was also a curator and a teacher. He served as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was an influential figure in the development of the New York School of painting. He also taught at several universities, including Bennington College and the University of California, San Diego, where he continued to influence a new generation of artists and critics.
Greenberg's influence on contemporary art and criticism can be seen in the continued emphasis on the formal elements of art and the rejection of representation and narrative. Many contemporary artists continue to work in a minimalist style, emphasizing the simplicity and purity of their materials and forms. Greenberg's ideas about the avant-garde and the need for art to challenge established norms and conventions also continue to resonate in the contemporary art world, where artists continue to push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable or tasteful.
However, Greenberg's ideas have also been criticized for being too narrow and for privileging a particular kind of modernist art over other forms of expression. Some have argued that his emphasis on the formal elements of art led to a kind of "formalism" that ignored the social and political context in which art was produced. Others have criticized his belief in the autonomy of art, arguing that it ignores the ways in which art is always shaped by the cultural and historical context in which it is produced.
In conclusion, Clement Greenberg was an important figure in the development of modern art and criticism. His emphasis on the formal elements of art and his
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Clement Greenberg (1909-1994) was an influential American art critic and curator who played a pivotal role in shaping the direction of art in the post-World War II era. Greenberg was known for his advocacy of Abstract Expressionism and his belief in the primacy of the formal elements of art, such as color, shape, and texture. His ideas about art and aesthetics continue to influence contemporary art and criticism. Greenberg's early career as an art critic began in the 1930s, but it was his writing on Abstract Expressionism in the 1940s and 1950s that cemented his reputation as a leading voice in the art world. He championed the work of artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman, arguing that their work represented a new, pure form of art that was free from the constraints of representation and narrative. One of Greenberg's most famous essays, "Avant-Garde and Kitsch" (1939), argued that modern art had a responsibility to challenge the cultural and artistic conventions of the past. He believed that the avant-garde should strive to create art that was "self-critical" and that rejected traditional notions of beauty and taste. This idea was a significant departure from the prevailing attitudes of the time, which tended to value art based on its ability to depict recognizable subjects or to conform to established aesthetic norms. Greenberg's emphasis on the formal elements of art and his rejection of representation and narrative had a profound influence on the development of Abstract Expressionism. He argued that art should be experienced purely on its own terms, without reference to anything outside of itself. This idea was embodied in the work of artists like Pollock, whose drip paintings were meant to be experienced as pure fields of color and texture. Greenberg's ideas about art and aesthetics were also influential in the development of Minimalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Minimalist artists such as Donald Judd and Dan Flavin emphasized the simple, geometric forms of their work, and rejected traditional notions of composition and design. Greenberg's emphasis on the formal elements of art and his belief in the power of simplicity and purity had a significant impact on the development of this movement. In addition to his work as a critic, Greenberg was also a curator and a teacher. He served as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was an influential figure in the development of the New York School of painting. He also taught at several universities, including Bennington College and the University of California, San Diego, where he continued to influence a new generation of artists and critics. Greenberg's influence on contemporary art and criticism can be seen in the continued emphasis on the formal elements of art and the rejection of representation and narrative. Many contemporary artists continue to work in a minimalist style, emphasizing the simplicity and purity of their materials and forms. Greenberg's ideas about the avant-garde and the need for art to challenge established norms and conventions also continue to resonate in the contemporary art world, where artists continue to push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable or tasteful. However, Greenberg's ideas have also been criticized for being too narrow and for privileging a particular kind of modernist art over other forms of expression. Some have argued that his emphasis on the formal elements of art led to a kind of "formalism" that ignored the social and political context in which art was produced. Others have criticized his belief in the autonomy of art, arguing that it ignores the ways in which art is always shaped by the cultural and historical context in which it is produced. In conclusion, Clement Greenberg was an important figure in the development of modern art and criticism. His emphasis on the formal elements of art and his |
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