LECTURE 5

Art and Philosophy:

Formalism, Functionalism
and Hedonism

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE
OBJECTIVES
a. Relate the study of art to the field of philosophy.
b. Compare and contrast formalism, expressionism,
hedonism and other theories of art.
c. Identify artworks, styles and artists that abide with
the formalist, functionalist and hedonistic theories.
d. Apply the theories to the analysis of art.
e. Interpret formalism as the foundation of modern
non-objective art.
f. Formulate a philosophical approach to the study of
Art Appreciation.
g. Evaluate the merit or demerit of artworks using the
formalist, expressionist and hedonistic principles.
h. Make works of art that show the application of the
theories. DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE
READINGS
5.1. Kandinsky, Wassily (1911). “Theory” excerpt from
Concerning the Spiritual in the Arts, pp. 46-52. In
http://www.semantikon.com/art/kandinskyspiritualin
art.pdf
5.2. Tolstoy, Leo (1897). Excerpt from What is Art. In
https://www.google.com.ph/webhp?sourceid=chrom
einstant&rlz=1C1RLNS_enPH670PH670&ion=&espv=2
&ie=UTF 8#q =what+is+art+leo+tolstoy+pdf.

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE

VIDEOS
5.1. “Kandinsky and Schonberg” in https://www.you
tube.com/watch?v=I0DX YTN0OAM

5.2. “ArtSleuth VAN GOGH, The Starry Night (final

version).” In https:// www.youtube.com/results?
search_query=Artsleuth+Van+Gogh+Starry+Night
+MOMA.

LECTURES
5.1. Formalist Theory of Art
5.2. Expressionist Theory of Art
5.3. Aesthetic Hedonism

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE

 LECTURE 5.1
Formalist Theory
of Art

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE
 Is this art according
to representationism?
 FORMALISM
Art is the combination
of perceptual elements.

AUDITORY VISUAL
Rhythm Line
Pitch Shape
FORM = ART
Melody Value
Harmony Texture
Dynamics Color
Art is NON-FIGURATIVE
because does not contain
any representation.
NON-FIGURATIVE ART
has no representation

The way of
presenting
the subject is
NON-OBJECTIVE
 CLIVE BELL
(1881-1964)

ART
=
“To appreciate art, we Significant
bring with us nothing Form
from life.” What is
essential in art is only
the “significant form”.

“Art for art’s sake.”

THEOPHILE GAUTIER
 PAUL CEZANNE
1839-1906
“Artists need to look at
nature and things only as
forms made up of spheres,
cylinders, cones.”
Cezanne, Mount
Sainte-Victoire,
1902
 Cezanne
Apples and
Oranges
REPRESENTATION FORM

Green
Isosceles
Pine Tree Triangle
Brown
Vertical
Rectangle
THIN AND
THICK BLACK
SLANTING
LINES AND
SHAPES
 REDUCTION OF
REPRESENTATION
INTO FORM
 You see only
shapes and sizes,
not genitals nor
the sex act.

There is no
pornography in formalism!
 WASSILY KANDINSKY
(1881-1964)
Concerning the Spiritual
in the Arts, 1923

REPRESENTATIONAL ART: PURELY FORMAL ART:

Sign of Materialism in Would bring about
the Society Spiritual Life

“Art is born from the inner necessity of the

artist in an enigmatic, mystical way through
which it acquires an autonomous life; it
becomes an independent subject, animated
by a spiritual breath.”
 CATEGORIES OF KANDINSKY’S PAINTINGS

Paintings which retain some

IMPRESSIONS naturalistic representation.

Paintings which convey deep

IMPROVISATIONS emotions inspired by events
of a spiritual type.

Purely formal paintings done

COMPOSITIONS carefully, over a period of time,
after preliminary studies. These
are his most complicated works.
 Kandinsky,
Impression III
(Concert)
1911

He painted this
after attending
a concert by
Schonberg.
 Kandinsky,
Improvisation
No. 30 (Canons)
1913

He painted this
because of the
constant talk
about the
incoming war.
 Kandinsky,
Composition
No. 3, 1923

He painted
this after a lot
of preliminary
sketches.
 VISUAL MUSIC
PAINTING
Color REPRESENTATION Sound

“Yellow is the color of middle C on a brassy trumpet; black is the

color of closure, and the end of things; and that combinations of
colors produce vibrational frequencies, akin to chords played on
a piano.” KANDINSKY
SYNAESTHESIA: The ability to perceive color Kandinsky and
or sound simultaneously by two senses. Schonberg
FORMAL MUSIC
There are no
lyrics, only
sounds of ARNOLD Developed
musical SCHONBERG ATONAL MUSIC
instruments. based on the
(1874-1951) 12-tone method
String Quartet of composition
(dodecaphonic).
No. 1 in D Minor
TONAL MUSIC C Dm Em F G Am Bdim7
Bach
7-Tone Scale (7 Chords in Triad Notes) Excerpt

TONAL MUSIC
C Cm Caug5 Cdim7 C# C#m C#aug5 C#dim7
D Dm Daug5 Ddim7 D# D#m D#aug5 D#dim7
12-Tone Scale
E Em Eaug5 (56 Chords in Triad Notes)

Schonberg
Excerpt
 PURELY
FORMAL
PAINTINGS
Kandinsky, Color Composition
Kandinsky, Transversed Lines, 1923