Summary
Greenberg was is an essay that was written in 1939 during a time which it attracted a lot of criticism. It was published in the journal of Partisan Review. It became a point of concern. The author wrote many articles in the form of literacy criticism. The massage was repelled by many groups, including the totalitarian seizure of Europe.
However, the essay many and important messages to the public. Firstly, it could reach large masses of people due to its mode of presentation. The main drawback in passing the message was lack of arenas specifically in the United States of America unlike France. The masses too had limited freedom and hence they were not easily accessible.
The avant-garde arise to defend the aesthetic standards that were in decline. The affected group was the consumer state. There were different claims of the author about the real definition of Avant garde and Kitch. The most controversial definition explained that Kitch was equivalent to academic art, though it did not bring out well how they were equivalent. He states that “all Kitch is academic is academic, and conversely all academic is Kitch.” The idea of equating the both was heavily criticized and he later came to drop that idea.
Lastly, the article has a significant as shown in the partisan review. Its popularity led to a change in the culture of Russia. The blame can only be put on the political regime because the barred its spread. Despite the political influence of the regions, Kitch can be said to be the most dominant and the popular culture. The reason why it spread is because it advocated for the shunning of the formalism and adoption of socialist realism.
The American Action Painters
Rosenberg had a special interpretation of the culture in which he valued canvas and treated it as the new arena for the acting. The canvas did not deal with the picture, but what happened was events. Due to the importance that was attached to the canvas, it became an important arena for acting in America. There are other artists who did not work the same way as Rosenberg neither did they attach the same importance on canvas. Example of these artists are Michelangelo and Rembrandt.
The painting of the America changed during the time of Rosenberg. The American painting cannot called “pure art”. There are, many reasons why it cannot be called pure art. The main reason is that it was not purely painting, but it involved different activities. There were a combination of different activities which contributed to the final product such as color combination. It also included different disciplines that were not present in the painting. History, psychology, philosophy are examples of such disciplines that were not initially involved in painting, hence it cannot be called pure art.
Greenberg and Rosenberg faced similar criticism faced similar criticisms in their works of art. Rosenberg was also criticized at the same time (1950s). He was a special critic who in his works explained the meaning of the gestural abstraction unlike Greenberg. His work was highly challenged toward the end of the century. The importance of the color field painting was significantly increased.
Works Cited
Clement, G. (1939). Avantgarde and Kitch.
Harold, R. (1952). The American action Painters. Art News, 22.
