How Horizontality Became a Medium: Rosalind Krauss on Pollock's All-over Paintings

Abstract

Abstract: Art historian Rosalind Krauss argues that Jackson Pollock has introduced a new medium in art practices by creating horizontal space in his all-over paintings. Such a medium has transcended the physical dimension of the object and become a persistent model, which greatly illuminated the subsequent minimalism and pop art. While setting out from a classic modernist approach, Krauss's criticism takes on a Structuralist outlook different from modernism. Centering on the co-participation of the artist, the environment and the work, her observation is more inclusive and powerful as a method of interpretation than modernist theories.

Key words: Jackson Pollock, Rosalind Krauss, Clement Greenberg, horizontality, the optical, medium

Shen Yubing, Mao Qiuyue. How Horizontality Became a Medium: Rosalind Krauss on Pollock's All-over Paintings[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2016, 36(5): 156-163.

References

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(1)“视觉性”一词在美术史形式分析之中并不鲜见。艺术史家李格尔在《罗马晚期的工艺美术》(北京:北京大学,2010年)一书中就指出,艺术的发展经历了从触觉到触觉-视觉,再到视觉艺术的发展历程。在这一历程中,人的主观因素不断强化,而客观物质的特性受到削弱。李格尔的“触觉性”与“视觉性”的概念,后来被学者沃尔夫林阐发为图绘和线绘的概念。在《美术史的基本概念》(北京:北京大学,2011年)一书中,沃尔夫林讨论了纯视觉模式与触觉式的视觉模式。值得注意的是,弗雷德所谓的“视觉性”概念,只是引申了线条不存在塑形功能这个维度,从而为画坛新秀波洛克的作品定下基调。因此可以说弗雷德对“视觉性”的探讨具有一定的原创性。
(2)不过学者布洛赫却谨慎地指出,正是出于对一种“纯粹视觉性”的阐释,让弗雷德不能体会波洛克作品的内涵。参见Buchloh,Benjamin H.D..Formalism and Historicity;Models and Methods in Twentieth-Century Art.Cambridge,MA:MIT Press,2015.351.
(3)“行动绘画”(Action Painting)的概念最早见于批评家哈罗德·罗森伯格(Harold Rosenberg),随后成为人们认识抽象表现主义的重要参考。参见Rosenberg.“The American Action Painters."The Tradition of the New.New York;Da Capo Press,1994.22.
(4)在法国,巴塔耶最先向形式美学提出了挑战。1929年,巴塔耶以达达式的荒诞文字写道:“宇宙类似于无形[……]有点像蜘蛛或是唾液。”“非形,不仅是一种具有某种现成意义的形容词,而且是一个可以给这个世界带来些什么的词汇,(而这个世界上的)任何东西都有自己的形。”参见Bataille,George."Informe."Visions of Excess;Selected Writings,1927-1939.Minneapolis;University of Minnesota Press,1985.31.
(5)事实上,近年来兴起的认知美学批评,已经为人们认识波洛克等抽象表现主义艺术家提供了有益的洞见。关于这方面的探讨,参见Claude,Cemuschi.Mtf an Illustration but the Equivalent;A Cognitive Approach to Abstract Expressionism.NJ;Fairleigh Dickinson University Press,1997.
(6)笔者已就莱杰的观点撰写了几则论文,可参见毛秋月:“迈克尔·莱杰和他的《重构抽象表现主义》”,《画刊》6(2015):72-76。

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