Regularity
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== The Grid in Modern and Contemporary Art == | == The Grid in Modern and Contemporary Art == | ||
| − | In the 1960s and 70s, artists moved away from the raw emotion of abstract expressionism, the dominant movement of the 1950s. Newer movements such as op-art and minimalism, and the continued line of constructivism in Europe engendered a body of rational, calculated visual art that utilized even spacing and grids to define order. | + | In the 1960s and 70s, artists moved away from the raw emotion of abstract expressionism, the dominant current of the 1950s. Newer movements such as op-art and minimalism, and the continued line of constructivism in Europe engendered a body of rational, calculated visual art that utilized even spacing and grids to define order. A tour through any major American modern art museum will reveal Frank Stella canvas' of regular lines, Ad Reinhardt's hard-edge grids of barely distinguishable tones, Carl Andre's grids of metal arranged on the floor, Donald Judd's regularly-spaced steel fabrications, Dan Flavin's neon matrices, and Agnes Martin's exquisite, subtle grids of paint on canvas. This list could continue for pages and move forward in history, but you get the point. |
| − | [Frank Stella, Ad Reinhart, Carl Andre, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin. In Europe, Max Bill, Karl Gerstner, Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely ] | + | In Europe at the same time, a massive number of artists were working with grid systems and they were often doing so with more explicit focus and rigor. This energy was frequently channeled into groups that formed in different cities. For example, there was GRAV (?? et al) in Paris, ZERO (?? et al) based in Dusseldorf and extending a wide net across Europe, and ?? (?? et al) in London and the Zuricher ?? (Max Bill, et al.). Although it's difficult to discern in only looking at the work, there was tension between the primacy of mathematical form championed by Max Bill and the ZERO artists who maintained a desire to imbue subjectivity and emotion. The most iconic artist to work with grids might be the French optical artist Victor Vasarely. His work was so systemized that he invented a notation system to enable a team of assistants to assemble his works from modular, prefabricated colored pieces. This global tendency to move toward minimal forms was expressed well by Ad Reinhardt's in Art-as-Art in 1962: |
| − | These visual works arose from earlier lines of visual exploration. Within the context of the grid, Dutch pioneers Piet Mondrian (dates) and Theo Van Doesburg (dates) set the precedent for abandoning representation and even the abstration of Vallily Kandinsky for aesthetic production through rigid, regular grids. | + | The one object of fifty years of abstract art is to present art-as-art and as nothing else, |
| + | to make it into the one things it is only, separating and defining it more and more, | ||
| + | making it purer... | ||
| − | (The grid constructed through 10 PRINT is rotated 45 degrees to add to the dynamism of the structure. This was explored by both Van Doesbur g and Mondrian. ) | + | These late-century visual works arose from earlier lines of visual exploration. Within the context of the grid, pioneers Piet Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg and other artists affiliated with De Stijl, further abandoned representation and moved beyond the abstract visual language opened by Wassily Kandinsky and new advanced painting originating from impressionism and cubism. Van Doesburg coined the term “concrete art” in 1930 to signify works that are conceived without reference to nature and symbolism. Works like Mondrian's Composition with Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921 (1921) and Van Doesburg's Counter-Composition VI (1925) were composed exclusively with orthogonal lines to form a grid. Even earlier in Russia, Kasimir Malovich and Alexen?? Rodchenko [MORE] |
| − | [MORE] | + | // |
| − | While the 10 PRINT program came out of the computer culture, but it has an uncanny visual resemblance to prior works of twentieth century art. The earliest related work we've tracked down is by Paul Klee, a Bauhaus professor and eminent artist. In his influential short book Pedagogical Sketchbook, Klee discusses… In ?? he implemented these ideas ?? | + | While the 10 PRINT program came out of the computer culture and not the art world, it has an uncanny visual resemblance to prior works of twentieth century art. The earliest related work we've tracked down is by Paul Klee, a Bauhaus professor and eminent artist. In his influential short book Pedagogical Sketchbook, Klee discusses… In ?? he implemented these ideas ?? |
In 1968, the American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt starting making drawing directly on walls, rather than on paper or canvas that would be placed on the wall. In this return to the scale of frescos, his drawings within grids integrated into architecture to transform the space. His Wall Drawing 291 from 1976 is a striking work, with a strong similarity to 10 PRINT. Instead of the binary decision within 10 PRINT, LeWitt's drawing allows for horizontal and vertical lines, to create four choices for each grid element. Also like 10 PRINT, LeWitt's work is encoded as an algorithm. Unlike 10 PRINT, the instructions are in English, rather than BASIC: | In 1968, the American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt starting making drawing directly on walls, rather than on paper or canvas that would be placed on the wall. In this return to the scale of frescos, his drawings within grids integrated into architecture to transform the space. His Wall Drawing 291 from 1976 is a striking work, with a strong similarity to 10 PRINT. Instead of the binary decision within 10 PRINT, LeWitt's drawing allows for horizontal and vertical lines, to create four choices for each grid element. Also like 10 PRINT, LeWitt's work is encoded as an algorithm. Unlike 10 PRINT, the instructions are in English, rather than BASIC: | ||
| − | 291. A 12” (30cm) grid covering a black wall. Within each 12” (30cm) square, | + | 291. A 12” (30cm) grid covering a black wall. Within each 12” (30cm) square, |
| − | a vertical, horizontal, diagonal right or diagonal left line bisecting the | + | a vertical, horizontal, diagonal right or diagonal left line bisecting the |
| − | square. All squares are filled. (The direction of the line in each square is | + | square. All squares are filled. (The direction of the line in each square is |
| − | determined by the draftsman.) | + | determined by the draftsman.) |
This grid-based wall drawing wasn't an isolated work within LeWitt's output. He created dozens of similar drawings, each with slightly different rules and allowing for varied lines including arcs and dotted lines. | This grid-based wall drawing wasn't an isolated work within LeWitt's output. He created dozens of similar drawings, each with slightly different rules and allowing for varied lines including arcs and dotted lines. | ||
| − | Francois Molnar, a ?? and the husband of artists Vera Molnar (see p. ?? Note: we need to insert her within the Random chapter) | + | Francois Molnar, a member of GRAV and the husband of artists Vera Molnar (see p. ?? Note: we need to insert her within the Random chapter) presented a visual system strikingly similar to 10 PRINT in his essay ??, published in ??. [MORE] |
| − | [MORE] | + | Despite their visual similarity, all of the works discussed are fundamentally different from 10 PRINT because they are static. In the next section, we'll introduce another additional precedent for 10 PRINT related to its temporal and generative properties. |
| − | |||
| − | All of these works discussed are fundamentally different from 10 PRINT because they are static. In the next section, we'll introduce another group of precedent for 10 PRINT related to its temporal and generative properties. | ||
== The Computer Screen == | == The Computer Screen == | ||
