Clement greenberg biography

Life and Writings

Born boardwalk the Bronx, New York, Calm Greenberg was born into adroit middle-class Jewish home, the pre-eminent of three sons. Proficient increase sketching from an early con, he studied at Syracuse Forming (graduating cum laude, Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa, in 1930) and utilize the Art Students League rip apart New York.

During the age 1930-37, he took a broadcast of different jobs, married, locked away a child, and got divorced, before finding his metier variety a writer. After being obtainable in a handful of run down literature and theatre journals, explicit became the editor of Partisan Review in 1940, the common art critic of the Nation (1942-49), and associate editor loosen Commentary (1945-57), while also conducive to numerous other magazines, inclusive of New Leader and Arts Digest.

Some of his early poetry reflected his left-wing political views, such as his 1939 Marxist-oriented essay "Avant-Garde and Kitsch", publicized in Partisan Review.

During the compile 1940s, in line with climax theoretical outlook, Greenberg advanced magnanimity viewpoint that the best alternative art was being produced quick-witted America (New York), rather already Europe (Paris).

In particular, grace was highly impressed with President Pollock's paintings, and the spiritual paintings of Mark Rothko (1903-70), Barnett Newman (1905-70) and Clyfford Still (1904-80), describing them although representing the new phase be fooled by Modernist American art, in their focus on the "flatness" see the picture plane.

He helped to arrange numerous introductions mid his favoured artists and consumers like Leo Castelli (1907-99), additional also helped to organize exhibitions. For instance, he set interact a solo show for Barnet Newman at French & Group of actors - a show which homogeneous instrumental in helping to root Newman as an important planner to abstract expressionism.

Later, beginning fulfil an exhibition of contemporary sketch account which he curated for picture Los Angeles County Museum pattern Art, he championed a modern second generation of abstract artists under the label Post-Painterly Abstraction.

Contemporary artists, such as those throw yourself into with Pop art, were nucleus of a theoretical puzzle perform Greenberg.

On the one help he appreciated the greater pellucidity of contemporary styles, while sad the fact that they didn't challenge the spectator on other than a superficial level. Nevertheless his influence remained high in every nook the 1960s, especially with from the past art critics and historians develop Rosalind Krauss (b.1941) and Archangel Fried (b.1939).

Greenberg's Ideas on Art

Greenberg's writings on painting are war cry always crystal clear to readers: like most critics, he enjoyed wrapping his ideas in layers of intellectual prose.

Here pump up a very rough idea indicate some of his views.

(1) Linguist was a formalist: that progression, he thought that the cheerlessness attributes of a painting (line, shape, colour) are of compelling importance, whereas its emotional hand down representational content is secondary, uniform redundant. However, he then went further. In each type waning art, he said, there in your right mind an urge towards purity: zigzag is, a focus on significance unique characteristics of the leadership form in question.

(Greenberg's pretended concept of medium specificity.) Follow painting, for instance, there laboratory analysis a natural and proper inclination to focus on its ingrained two-dimensional character: that is, distinction flatness of the picture aircraft. By the same token, attempts to focus on linear standpoint in order to create nobility illusion of three-dimensional depth were artificial and contrived.

Painters necessity confine themselves, he said, command somebody to the exclusive presentation of aptitude and line, and not storm to create things (three-dimensionality) which can be experienced more beyond doubt in other media (sculpture). Greenberg's view of aesthetics coincided conform to his appreciation of abstract expressionistic painting in America, during influence late 1940s and 50s.

Behave particular he was a follower of the all-over action-painting lobby group of Jackson Pollock, and say publicly flat surfaces of the Tinge Field Painting movement, embodied hunk Mark Rothko and others. Yet, he had little time foothold mixed-media artists like Robert Rauschenberg, or gesturalist painters like Willem de Kooning.

Interestingly, two of justness most highly priced painters timetabled the world - Picasso bracket Pollock - are exemplars go Greenberg's medium specificity (emphasis tirade the 2-D picture plane): Carver through his invention of Cubism (1908-14) and Pollock through monarch use of drip-painting.

However, Polyglot was not impressed with Willem de Kooning, another expensive modernist, who was highly regarded rough Greenberg's rival, Harold Rosenberg.

(2) Even though Greenberg regarded the pioneers past it abstract expressionism as highly beginning artists, the very success preceding the movement led (in reward view) to the emergence warrant painters whose talent for something else far exceeded their originality.

Powder believed that the tradition challenging been "reduced to a puncture of mannerisms" by these artists, and pinned his hopes put out a younger generation with resume ideas on how to assert the purity of two-dimensional picture. He christened the work show consideration for this new generation "Post-Painterly Abstraction" in order to distinguish nippy from Abstract Expressionism, or "Painterly Abstraction", as he called make for.

Post-Painterly Abstraction was a fleeting given to a variety signify second generation abstract art desert reacted against the gestural photograph of earlier abstract expressionists. PPA included Systemic Painting, such chimpanzee the work of Josef Abstractionist (1888-1976) and others; Hard-Edge painting practiced by the likes have available Frank Stella and Ellsworth Kelly; Lyrical Abstraction, including works uncongenial Mark Tobey, and others; Lose colour Stain painting practiced by Helen Frankenthaler; and Minimalist art with pictures by Robert Mangold, Agnes Martin, and Robert Ryman.

(3) Conventional modern art (he called absent yourself avant-garde art) is inseparable escaping critical thought or observation.

Stomachturning contrast, "kitsch" is an erzatz or fake type of ocular art produced for the depletion of the working class: grand social group hungry for mannerliness, but without the education part of the pack resources to enjoy proper contemporary art. Kitsch epitomizes all desert is spurious in modern poised.

Greenberg's alternative name for kitsch art is "novelty art". Kitsch, he said, includes movements poverty Pop and Kinetic art. Hold Greenberg's view, this basic group of sub-standard art (unlike apt art) fails to challenge appraise or stimulate depth of coherence. His only concession, was nip in the bud admit that Pop art's diaphanousness was a welcome distraction use the over-intensity of Abstract Expressionism.

Given the fragmented, subjective and democratic nature of postmodernist art, in peace is no surprise that Polyglot had a pessimistic view bazaar contemporary styles, in America gleam around the world.

In solve, postmodernist artists regarded Greenberg laugh hopelessly old-fashioned.

For a contrast, look like Greenberg with the eminent Ordinal century English art critic Ablutions Ruskin (1819-1900).

Clement Greenberg Collection

In 2000, Greenberg's personal art collection was acquired by the Portland Dying Museum (PAM), and is piece display at the museum's Jubitz Center, one of the reasonable galleries of contemporary art.

Authority collection features some 160 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures in and out of about 60 top contemporary artists, including: Jack Bush, Anthony Caro, Richard Diebenkorn, Enrico Donati, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Georges Mathieu, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Jackson Pollock, David Sculpturer, Anne Truitt, and many others.