As an art critic and theorist, Clement Greenberg heavily influenced Abstract Expressionist painting. How do you feel about his influence and can you think of people or movements that influence contemporary art and design today?
This blog post is being published late. It is due by Friday, October 7th along with two journal pages.
How do I feel about Clemente Greenburg? I don’t like him. This is not just because I don’t agree with his ideas but because he was so oppressive about them. It was really this all or nothing attitude that in hind sight was probably part of his ideals demise. Of course these ideas did not completely go away, but like most other trends in art, have become immersed in a sea of art movements gone by that artist now regularly draw upon. As far as influences of today I find that street art has become prevalent both in and out of the traditional art institutions. I suppose one of the obvious influences would be Banksy. You can’t really talk about the movement without mentioning him. Also I find that the periodical Juxtapose has done an amazing job of showcasing art and artist that would not normally be put in the spot light. If you think about it, this periodical even spreads the movement to those not in urban areas where people are exposed to street art more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Countess. It's perfectly cool to have opinions but when you start being annoyingly overbearing than you've lost my interest and respect. Professor Simmons was saying the other day that that is essentially how a critic characteristically behaves: it's all about swaying people to your side. She said that it's not often that you read an art review and have a critic end the article or essay by saying "but that's just my opinion!" So I understand that to get ahead in the world of critics you have to be tough and convince people your way of thinking is the right way. But still! Clement Greenberg actually went in and started influencing the artists themselves. I don't really know much about historical artist/critic relationships but I'm not particularly fond of Greenberg placing his art analysis on a pedestal and expected the artist to go off of that and not their own inspiration. He kind of reversed the role of critic and artist.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I think environmental art is really influential right now. The movement is fueled by the state of the planet right now and is either content based (having content that is heavily centered on how man affects the environment or how the environment is declining or things relating to those sorts of ideas) or form based (creating art that is also
functional or presents ideas on how the situation could possibly be remedied). I think it's due to the fact that artists are more and more coming from backgrounds of combined interest or collaborating with people from different fields. It's really interesting and I think pushes art back into the direction of commentary on the issues of the world, instead of something that is just self referential.
My problem with Clement Greenberg's opinion has to do with his "this is the only way"ness. It is not that his opinion is wrong, it changed the course of art as we know it, but it was just so black and white.I just wish he had been more chill. I think right now Performance art. There is a merge happening between theatre and visual art that is extreme intriguing mentally and emotionally. The combination of these two mediums is extremely powerful. I also see a theatrical element in the way artists are presenting their work. Think of Leigh-Ann Papahill's work. The way she places her work is dramatic and staged. I am excited to see what this partnership brings in the future.
ReplyDeleteAs others have stated, Clement Greenberg’s opinions and critiques of art, although certainly influential, are rather exclusionary and dogmatic. Although his attitudes helped shape the resurgence of modernist painting in America, his feelings toward other artistic movements seem arrogant. As Morgan said in her post, it’s all very black and white, right or wrong. Art is so special because there are so many manifestations of style, and none are inherently better than others. I certainly wish Greenberg hadn’t mumbled so much. In terms of influential artistic movements, I think that street art and graffiti are emerging into the public sphere. Because so much of the art is socially and politically charged, it prompts controversy and discussion. It categorically challenges social conceptions of art, not only through content but through location as well.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important and exciting to have someone push art in new directions and bring about appreciation for new kinds of art making. Greenburg managed to transform a style of art that was not well received to the ultimate American style. He encouraged forward thinking and opened minds to non-representational work. He broke the conception that art had to be in some way representational for it to be ‘good,’ an idea that had been in place since the Renaissance. While from a contemporary view, the idea that modern non-representational is the only way seems ridiculous, it was his belief in the style that helped transform the art world. We would not be as open-minded today to all styles of art from abstract to expression to realism if it wasn’t for forward thinkers such as Greenburg. Another influential figure in the art world was Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer who helped establish photography as an art form. Like Greenburg he opened the minds of Americans and had a great long lasting impact on what can now be considered the art form of photography.
ReplyDeleteGreenburg to me is just way too opinionated. His view on what art is, is too narrow a view to have as a critic. To me, art is art because of the broad range it covers. If art was a narrow construct it would quickly become boring and cease to matter. His new ways of thinking about what can be considered art is important but it is important to remember that one type of art is not superior to another. I think that a big idea in art right now is employing media choices that surprise the viewer. Mark Newport comes to mind because he meshes knitting and yarn as media with performance art. Yarn is not often thought of as media for artists and Newport's use of yarn and the process of meshing this media and including the art making process as part of his performance art is innovative and influential.
ReplyDeleteClement Greenberg had and still has a lot of influence over art and the way people make art. His new ways of thinking and ideas were very progressive and different and had huge influences to the art world as a whole, even in higher education of art. Even though I believe there is more behind art than just form and material, these are very important for me, as I like to create aesthetically pleasing work, and experiment with material and new mediums, which is what I am doing through my visual journal, and I think that made artists go a lot further and experiment a lot more, as their focus was turned towards the materials and the form. Therefore, I will say that Clement Greenberg is an influence till today, as with his convincing theories, he made artist go beyond the borders and out of the box they were in and explore different ways.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate his contribution to the way we perceive art today. Despite his narrow-minded perspective that “we should ignore everything but the work’s form”, Greenburg did, in fact, responsible for how we look at contemporary art today. Without him as a pioneer the art world would probably never notice the beauty that lies in Pollock’s painting and the art would still carry on like how it is since the renaissance. Another major figure that I think greatly influence contemporary art and design today is Sigmund Freud. Freud psychoanalytic and psychosexual theory are still widely use as a foundation for art interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI define Greenburg in my mind in being some sort of unpleasant, greedy, opportunistic businessman who represents all of the institutionalization that I just simply cannot stand. He acted as a puppeteer, popularizing artists and movements that he saw fit, most notably Jackson Pollock. I think art critics certainly have a place in this world, but that as an art critic you have to keep some sort of open-mindedness towards all areas of art. For example, I don’t care for Abstract Expressionism at all aesthetically, but I can justify the movement. I understand that Pollock was innovative and unique, and that a lot of the attention to formal qualities (specifically color and shape) influence a great deal of contemporary art movements that I do actually enjoy. Greenburg, meanwhile, only concerned himself with art that didn’t have any illusions to such an extreme that he disregarded the importance of any art that existed outside of that little box. As an artist, I don’t care for boxes, therefore I don’t care for Greenburg. Today, I don’t think that there could be any singular voice or art critic. Contemporary art is so varied and so accessible to the public due to sources like the internet that I don’t think any critic could be quite so close-minded in regards to what “good art” is anymore. I’m sure there are a few, but they would never get the same sort of momentum Greenburg did.
ReplyDeleteGreenberg* Oops
ReplyDelete