Neoformalism: The Truth Behind Modern Art

Among many brilliant master pieces framed artfully at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City sits one art installation that I will never forget. Isolated in a room surrounded by colorful imagery hung the most unexciting canvas I had even seen. It was plain white. At first glance I presumed it was empty, unpainted or unfinished, but at an acclaimed (and expensive) museum, nothing is there unintentionally. The longer I examined this portrait, the more frustrated I became. A plain white canvas? Please. I could do that.

After having read the chapter discussing neoformalism and its elements, I am able to identify the anger I felt day at the exhibit. At the time, I had been examining the painting through pure automatization; I drew conclusions based on only instinct and impulse. Had I viewed the image with a sense of defamiliarization, an approach that requires active spectatorship, I would have understood that true response requires seeing art on a different level. While this is much more difficult in practice, it is the most effective way to experience art.

Rather than holding the point of view that "art is for art's sake" (the only beauty within art is the notion of art itself), one should always strive to understand art in a scientific and literary way. It's a comprehensive way to form a meaningful analysis!