Expressionism And Leo Tolstoy's Essay On Expressionism

Artists in the early 1900s commonly utilized techniques of distortion and exaggeration, characteristics of expressionism, to establish the element of emotion. According to Wolf (2017), expressionist artists often incorporate “swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes to convey the turgid emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world” (p. 1). Amplification of the human figure often evokes strong emotions for audiences of many different cultures. Additionally, the style reflects the consequences of urbanization, such as the alienation of individuals in society (Wolf, 2017). Expressionism allows artists to surpass realism and reflect the tribulations of living in a modern society.

In Abstract Expressionism - a certain construction of the world we call “individuality” is revealed in its true, that is to say, contingent, vulgarity. And so is painting; or rather, so are paintings like Hofmann’s “The Garden” and Adolph Gottlieb’s “Black, Blue Red” - done as they were under the sign or spell of such a construction, by “individuals” believing utterly (innocently, idiotically) in its power.

According to Tolstoy, the true purpose of art is connected to our abilities to feel emotion. “To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then, by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that feeling that others may experience the same feeling - this is the activity of art” (Tolstoy,66 ). Much like food is necessary for sustenance, art is necessary for our sympathetic capacities. In order for this form of communication to occur, the artist must have the capacity to express and transmit through his art, while the audience must have the capacity for sympathy in order to feel the artist’s expression. According to Tolstoy, simply transmitting an emotion is not enough to define art. A true work of art must be infectious to its audience and be able to express individual feelings lucidly and purposefully.

Expressionism can be described as a movement in the fine arts that emphasized the expression of inner experience rather than realistic portrayal, looking to obtain not objective reality, but the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in the artist. Several characteristics of expressionism are distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy. “The Green Table,” a ballet by Kurt Jooss, 1932, is an ideal example of expressionism because it depicts the choreographer’s personal interpretation of war through the use of movement, music by Fritz Cohen and lighting by Hermann Mankard.

Since the beginning of time, artists have labored extensively to find innovative ways to convey sentiment, passion, and feeling. Telling stories and trying to unlock the minds of people through different avenues of artistic labors. Art touches and affects people in unique ways; it can have special or unusual meaning on the person depending on how one views it. Artists’ rendering of their art is interpreted in numerous ways by others who view it unless it is explained by the artist on its meaning giving a clear example of what they are portraying. Two people looking at the same painting, sculpture, portrait, or photo may come to different views on the arts meaning even though they are looking

For centuries, people’s aesthetic value has been influenced by Rome's perfectionism, so do I. I used to think that artworks that make people feel appreciated are just equivalent to visual appreciation and satisfaction. However, after observing the painting and researching sources of this pieces of art I realized that an excellent artwork needs to cover all aspect requirements. For instance, an excellent artwork needs to contain a high operation of art skills as well as art knowledge in order to persuade audience. In addition, to qualify as a great artwork it has to create a substantial amount of activity in the audience’s mind or heart. When I look at an artwork I always try to figure out what is the artwork's message or what the artist is trying to communicate, to convey. Overall, I think a good artwork needs include some of the elements and principles of the language of art as well as the structure they give to be able to successfully communicate an idea.

In John Berger’s essay “Ways of Seeing,” he shares his view on how he feels art is seen. Mr. Berger explores how the views of people are original and how art is seen very differently. By comparing certain photographs, he goes on to let his Audience, which is represented as the academic, witness for themselves how art may come across as something specific and it can mean something completely different depending on who is studying the art. The author goes into details of why images were first used, how we used to analyze art vs how we do today, and the rarity of arts. He is able to effectively pass on his message by using the strategies of Rhetoric, which include Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.

Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence. These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular. During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life. It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music. It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist. Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole. From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing

Human emotions remain as one of the world’s biggest secrets. Like sleep, we know what happens to our body when we experience these emotions whether it be a release of hormones or a certain area on the body becomes more sensitive. But we don’t know why we have them, experience them, or what purpose they serve. All we know is everyone’s emotions behave differently. Different types of arts can elicit completely different emotional response from people. Some art may have the ability to appeal to dangerous emotions in certain people. Whether it be the corruption of a once faithful and beautiful young girl, plagued by the desire for romanticism and lofty ideas, or a handsome young nobleman who is obsessed with living life to fullest. Both are fueled by the emotion that a certain type of art elicits in them, leaving them in a never ending chase that ruins there life’s. In the Novels Madame Bovary and The Picture of Dorian Grey the protagonists in these stories perfectly exemplifies the danger of arts emotional appeal by showing the corruption and eventual downfall of two once young and beautiful souls by exposing them to art that pleases dangerous emotions such as desire, pleasure, entitlement and disappointment.

Abstract Expressionism is making its comeback within the art world. Coined as an artist movement in the 1940’s and 1950’s, at the New York School, American Abstract Expressionist began to express many ideas relevant to humanity and the world around human civilization. However, the subject matters, contributing to artists, were not meant to represent the ever-changing world around them. Rather, how the world around them affected the artist themselves. The works swayed by such worldly influences, become an important article within the artists’ pieces. Subjectively, looking inward to express the artist psyche, artists within the Abstract Expressionism movement became a part of their paintings. Making the paintings more of a representation

The most important trait in defining art is its beauty. As complex as the term “art” can be, the term “beauty” is nearly just as complicated. In order to understand art more clearly it is important to understand beauty. “We label an object beautiful because it promotes an internal harmony or ‘free play’ of our mental faculties; we call something ‘beautiful’ when it elicits this pleasure.” (Freeland 8). As defined above, beauty is not a direct message. It is something that subconsciously allows man to feel good and pleasurable. There is “an internal harmony” when we observe something beautiful that allows us to take away a deeper understanding of a work of art regardless of it being “nice looking” or “ugly”.

A work of art can capture a moment in a person’s life. When observing art it’s almost like a snapshot of a brief point in time. The artist tries to create this specific point, and within this creates a story or meaning. The art has something to say and the artist wants you to react or take something away from this experience. The reaction is the function of the specific work of art. Whether it’s a favorable or awful reaction, the viewer still walks away changed.

Leo Tolstoy compares art to speech by mentioning that art is a form of communication. The communication that Tolstoy writes about in “What Is Art?” is of two types, good and bad. According to Tolstoy, good art is what carries humanity towards perfection (Tolstoy 383). It is this movement forward in humanity that is emphasized by Tolstoy. Tolstoy informs his readers that speech is what teaches knowledge from human history, but art is what teaches the emotions of mankind’s past. As knowledge becomes obsolete in society it is replaced by new and more relevant information. Tolstoy asserts that emotions act the same way. The purpose of art is to express new and more relevant feelings to humankind. The new feelings are for the

Modernism has found new expressions in art which in turn have changed how people critic and understand art, in this essay I am going to focus more on abstract expressionism. Debates in this movement have gone as far as influencing many artists and the two well-known critics who have made this movement more remarkable and have changed the art world completely are Clement Greenberg and Ronald Rosenberg. On the writings of these two gentlemen about art I will try to draw out the differences in the idea of what abstract expressionism is and what it is supposed to be, compare and outline the similarities and the differences between the two critics.

Life consists of constant cycles of spontaneous outbursts of joy and unexpected disappointments; there is an upside to this repetitive tug of war. On this rock we call home, we are surrounded by the most gorgeous creations, structures, and landscapes that add a touch of serenity to our miserable existences called aesthetics. Aesthetics as an adjective is defined as concern with beauty of the appreciation of beauty. As a noun it means a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement. The surrounding beauty that we take for continuous granted is significant towards our existence. In everyday interaction, we straddle the line between aesthetic judgement, where we appreciate any object, instead