📝History of Art Criticism Unit 5 – Mid–20th Century Art Criticism

Key Figures and Movements

• Clement Greenberg, influential American art critic known for his formalist approach and championing of Abstract Expressionism
• Harold Rosenberg, American art critic who coined the term "Action Painting" and emphasized the importance of the creative process
• Meyer Schapiro, art historian and critic who explored the social and political dimensions of art
• Minimalism, an art movement characterized by simple geometric forms, industrial materials, and a focus on the object itself
  • Artists associated with Minimalism include Donald Judd, Carl Andre, and Dan Flavin
• Pop Art, a movement that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, drawing inspiration from popular culture, mass media, and consumerism
  • Key figures in Pop Art include Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Tom Wesselmann
• Conceptual Art, an art movement that prioritized ideas and concepts over the final product, often using language, documentation, and unconventional materials
  • Notable Conceptual artists include Sol LeWitt, Joseph Kosuth, and Lawrence Weiner

Theoretical Frameworks

• Formalism, an approach that emphasizes the formal qualities of an artwork, such as color, line, shape, and composition, rather than its subject matter or content
  • Greenberg's formalist criticism focused on the inherent properties of the medium and the pursuit of "pure" abstraction
• Marxist art criticism, which examines art through the lens of social and economic structures, class relations, and ideology
  • Meyer Schapiro's Marxist approach considered the ways in which art reflects and shapes social and political realities
• Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, which gained prominence in art criticism during the 1960s and 1970s
  • Semiotics in art criticism explores how meaning is constructed and communicated through visual language and cultural codes
• Psychoanalytic theory, which applies the ideas of Sigmund Freud and other psychoanalysts to the interpretation of art
  • Psychoanalytic art criticism investigates the unconscious motivations, desires, and conflicts expressed in artworks and the creative process

Major Publications and Essays

• "Avant-Garde and Kitsch" (1939) by Clement Greenberg, an essay that distinguished between high art and popular culture, arguing for the autonomy of the avant-garde
• "The American Action Painters" (1952) by Harold Rosenberg, an influential essay that shifted the focus from the finished product to the act of painting itself
• "The Liberating Quality of Avant-Garde Art" (1957) by Meyer Schapiro, an essay that explored the emancipatory potential of modern art in relation to social and political change
• "Art and Objecthood" (1967) by Michael Fried, a critique of Minimalism that argued for the importance of "presentness" and the transcendence of art over mere objecthood
• "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art" (1967) by Sol LeWitt, a seminal text that outlined the principles and strategies of Conceptual Art
• "Notes on the Index: Seventies Art in America" (1977) by Rosalind Krauss, an essay that introduced the concept of the "index" in art and examined its implications for understanding contemporary art practices

Artistic Contexts and Influences

• The aftermath of World War II and the rise of American cultural dominance, which shaped the development of Abstract Expressionism and other post-war art movements
• The Cold War and the ideological tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, which influenced the reception and interpretation of art in the context of cultural diplomacy
• The Civil Rights Movement and other social and political struggles of the 1960s, which inspired artists to engage with issues of identity, inequality, and social change
• The emergence of mass media and consumer culture, which provided new sources of imagery and subject matter for artists, particularly those associated with Pop Art
• The influence of European modernism, particularly the work of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Marcel Duchamp, on the development of American art in the mid-20th century
• The rise of alternative spaces, artist-run galleries, and independent publications, which provided new platforms for the dissemination and discussion of contemporary art

Critical Debates and Controversies

• The tension between formalism and content-based approaches to art criticism, exemplified by the differing perspectives of Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg
• The question of the relationship between art and politics, and the role of the artist in society, which was a central concern for many critics and artists in the 1960s and 1970s
• The debate over the nature and definition of art, particularly in light of the challenges posed by new artistic practices such as Minimalism and Conceptual Art
  • This debate included questions about the boundaries between art and non-art, the role of the artist's intention, and the importance of the art object itself
• The controversy surrounding the NEA Four, a group of performance artists whose NEA grants were revoked in 1990 due to the controversial nature of their work, sparking a national debate about censorship and public funding for the arts
• The ongoing discussions about the representation and inclusion of marginalized groups in the art world, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ artists
• The impact of postmodernism on art criticism, which challenged traditional notions of authorship, originality, and the grand narratives of art history

Impact on Art Practice

• The influence of Greenberg's formalist criticism on the development of Color Field painting and Post-Painterly Abstraction in the 1950s and 1960s
  • Artists such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Helen Frankenthaler explored the expressive potential of color and the flatness of the picture plane in response to Greenberg's ideas
• The emergence of Performance Art and Happenings in the 1960s, which blurred the boundaries between art and life and challenged traditional notions of the art object
  • Artists such as Allan Kaprow, Yoko Ono, and Carolee Schneemann created participatory and ephemeral works that emphasized the importance of the artistic process and the role of the audience
• The rise of site-specific and installation-based practices in the 1970s, which engaged with the physical and social contexts of the exhibition space
  • Artists such as Robert Smithson, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Richard Serra created large-scale works that intervened in the landscape or transformed the gallery environment
• The influence of Conceptual Art on the use of language, documentation, and instruction-based practices in contemporary art
  • Artists such as Lawrence Weiner, John Baldessari, and Adrian Piper explored the relationship between language, image, and meaning in their work
• The impact of feminist art criticism on the recognition and representation of women artists in the art world
  • Feminist critics such as Linda Nochlin and Lucy Lippard challenged the male-dominated canon of art history and advocated for the inclusion of women's perspectives and experiences in art

Legacy and Contemporary Relevance

• The ongoing influence of formalist criticism on the discourse surrounding abstract and non-representational art
  • Contemporary artists continue to engage with questions of form, materiality, and the medium-specificity of art in their work
• The continued relevance of social and political critique in contemporary art practice and criticism
  • Artists and critics today address issues such as globalization, climate change, inequality, and identity politics through their work and writing
• The legacy of Conceptual Art in the development of post-studio practices and the emphasis on ideas and process over the final product
  • Contemporary artists often work across multiple media and disciplines, blurring the boundaries between art, design, and other fields
• The impact of digital technologies and the internet on the production, dissemination, and reception of art in the 21st century
  • New media art, net art, and other digital-based practices challenge traditional notions of authorship, originality, and the art object
• The growing importance of curatorial practice and the role of the curator in shaping the discourse surrounding contemporary art
  • Curators today often play a critical role in commissioning, interpreting, and contextualizing art for diverse audiences
• The ongoing debates around diversity, equity, and inclusion in the art world, and the need for more representative and socially engaged forms of art criticism
  • Critics and institutions are increasingly called upon to address issues of systemic bias, cultural appropriation, and the marginalization of underrepresented voices in the arts

Key Terms and Concepts

• Abstract Expressionism: A post-World War II art movement characterized by spontaneous, gestural brushwork and the exploration of the subconscious mind
• Action Painting: A term coined by Harold Rosenberg to describe the work of Abstract Expressionists, emphasizing the physical act of painting and the creative process
• Color Field Painting: A style of abstract painting that emerged in the 1950s, characterized by large areas of flat, solid color and an emphasis on the expressive qualities of color itself
• Formalism: An approach to art criticism that focuses on the formal elements of an artwork, such as color, line, shape, and composition, rather than its subject matter or content
• Greenbergian Formalism: The influential formalist approach developed by Clement Greenberg, which emphasized the flatness of the picture plane and the pursuit of medium-specificity in art
• Happenings: A type of performance art that emerged in the 1960s, characterized by spontaneous, participatory events that blurred the boundaries between art and life
• Indexicality: A concept introduced by Rosalind Krauss to describe the way in which certain artworks, such as photographs or readymades, bear a direct physical or causal relationship to their referents
• Institutional Critique: An artistic practice that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, which sought to challenge and expose the power structures and ideological biases of art institutions
• Minimalism: An art movement that developed in the 1960s, characterized by simple geometric forms, industrial materials, and a focus on the object itself rather than any symbolic or expressive content
• Neo-Avant-Garde: A term used to describe the resurgence of avant-garde practices in the 1950s and 1960s, which sought to challenge the boundaries between art and life and to engage with social and political issues
• Post-Painterly Abstraction: A term coined by Clement Greenberg to describe a style of abstract painting that emerged in the 1960s, characterized by a cool, impersonal approach and an emphasis on the optical effects of color and form
• Postmodernism: A broad cultural movement that emerged in the late 20th century, characterized by a skepticism towards grand narratives, a blurring of high and low culture, and an emphasis on pluralism and relativism
• Semiotics: The study of signs and symbols, which gained prominence in art criticism during the 1960s and 1970s as a way of analyzing the meaning and communication of visual language
• Site-Specificity: An artistic approach that emerged in the 1970s, which emphasized the importance of the physical and social context of the artwork and sought to engage directly with the exhibition space or environment