It is within bounds to say that contemporary paintings began to get out of the re-presentational and illusional space of premodernism. Premodernistic paintings had re-presented the firm foundation called the real or the referent, and had thoroughly fo...
It is within bounds to say that contemporary paintings began to get out of the re-presentational and illusional space of premodernism. Premodernistic paintings had re-presented the firm foundation called the real or the referent, and had thoroughly followed the dichotomic logic based on perspective, geometric space, figure and ground. As these pictorial spaces have the definitude of subject concurrently with formal unity, their compositions show centralistic form.
However, the grid system, which metaphorically indicated the plane of canvases, began to substitute for the perspective system in modernism that pursued formalism or reduction to the nature of paintings based on flatness of the canvas, as well as gestalt in which simultaneous unity was premised began to substitute for the logic of figure and ground. Extreme tautological form used to be shown on the basis of grid system in modernism and non-relational composition was shown in minimalism, with the consequence that decentralistic form appeared. Afterward, as the contents began to be valued rather than form in postmodernism, allegorical annotation, parody and pastiche were universalized and also it went so far to obscure the boundary between genres. At the case stood, form or composition were regarded as the object of deconstruction, and even formlessness-oriented works appeared.
On the assumption that formlessness or the breakup of form belong to decentralistic form, postmodernistic paintings mostly seem to pursue decentralistic form whether intentionally or unconsciously. Problems are how to define the decentralistic form from the viewpoint of formative composition, how to be aware of their complexion in actual works, and how to distinguish those from centralistic composition.
Under such background and critical mind, this study aimed at differentiating the decentralistic form of contemporary paintings from centralistic from, through defining decentralistic form from compositional viewpoint and indicating compositional formalities from the viewpoint of formative analysis.
In works of art, form is inseparably related with content or significance, and also formative analysis should be preceded in significant analysis and interpretative formalities. This study was focused on composition and form rather than content and significance, on the premise that conveying significances and putting questions should be performed through the visual form of works.
In this study, the theory of Rudolf Arnheim, who applied Gestalt psychology to works of art, was used to the methodological tool to explain and indicate decentralistic composition and form. As for him, centralistic composition is synonymous with regularity, simplicity and unity, and the concept of ‘center’ backs up it. Here, ‘center’ does not mean ‘middle’ geometrically, but means the unificative center formed by the dynamical balance between the powers of visual elements. In respect that the distinguishment between centralistic form and decentralistic form is related with the problem of degree and that decentralistic form can be defined relatively to centralistic form, decentralistic from was not defined as an acentric form, but a dynamic form that pursues the escape from centrality. Likewise, it was defined as the form having obscure structures, not disorder.
Works of Frank Stella and Elizabeth Murray were used to analyze actual works. The two persons all use the shaped canvas to deny the stable center, and make decentralistic forms through breaking up the relation between figure and ground. Murray and Stella make the center-floating space, following the formative principle of ‘multilayer-folded structure’ and ‘working space’ respectively. In addition, in relation to analysing works of art of researcher, decentralistic form was explained by chiasmatic structure and allegorical signification here as elsewhere.