The Synthesis of Expression and Form in Modern Art

At the start of Glen Macleod’s chapter, he establishes the essentialness of the interdisciplinary nature of Modern Art. This reminds me of Helen and Margaret’s eternal argument in Howard’s End. In terms of art forms influencing each other, Margaret must represent the standpoint of classical representational art, which asserts an impossibility of the form of one art being adopted by another. On the other hand, Helen speaks on behalf of Modern Art when she illustrates Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor as a drama of goblins and elephants. She views music as literature and drama, rather than as just music. Her deduction embodies the soul of the Modernist Movement.

It is a little known fact that the vast majority of early twentieth century literature originated as pictorial art. It is even lesser known that there are oppositional rifts in abstract arts such as veristic surrealism and absolute surrealism or geometrical and non-geometrical abstract art. It is very interesting to see how two artistic movements can be influenced by the same art but are theoretically and practically discordant with each other. A good example is Fauvism and Cubism, as depicted in Alfred H. Barr’s, Jr. sketch of the interrelatedness of Modern Art.

Another potential rift is exposed in “Desmond MacCarthy: The Post-Impressionists” and “Clive Bell: The Artistic problem.” MacCarthy asserts the importance of emotional expression in art over its literal representation of objects. He uses childhood art to support his claim for primitive art. Even though a painter, author, or sculptor can realistically depict something or someone, there must be a “significant” amount of expression in the work. He believes that “there comes a point when the accumulations of an increasing skill in mere representation begin to destroy the expressiveness of the design” (101). Thus, to MacCarthy, an artist may or may not acquire the skill for realism. This is of no consequence. The artist must instead be wholly devoted to expressing emotion.

However, in “Clive Bell: The Artistic problem,” Bell gives his attention to form more so than expression. Although he indicates that expression—creative impulse—is an essential part of the artistic process, he does not value expression in and of itself but values expression contained in a form. To Bell the form is the last step to prove mastery of an art.

Although MacCarthy and Bell esteem different aspects of art, the nature of Modern Art allow these differences to unify. It seems that, according to Macleod’s overview of Modern Art, form becomes a means of expression to Modern artists. Because of the rifts and derision sparked by the fight for artistic revolution or tradition or evolution, re-revolution, and de-evolution, it stands to reason that MacCarthy and Bell could use a synthesizing. As MacCarthy mentions, synthesis or “Synthesists” does not adequately represent the individual; however, in this case, synthesis can benefit the overall analysis of Modern Art. In combining the two theories, one can discern that Modern artists’ emotions were expressed through form. All of the denominations in the spiritual quest for Modernist forms attest to that. Therefore, In Modern Art, MacCarthy’s cry for emotional expression and Bell’s plea for form are one and the same. The different forms are the result of artistic emotional expression.