Abstraction in Modernism and Modernity: Human and Inhuman

Abstract is a crucial word in modernism and critical thought, but its complex work is often hidden in plain sight. Jeff Wallace's new intellectual history of abstraction in modernism and modernity proposes that it is always concerned with the importance and revaluation of the inhuman in and for the human. His case studies range across the writings of Raymond Williams and Paul Valéry, Marx and Marxist aesthetics, the discourse on abstract visual art in Czanne, Kandinsky, Mondrian and Newman, the literary experimentalisms of Gertrude Stein, Wallace Stevens and Samuel Beckett, and the twenty-first-century legacies of modernist abstraction in two forms: the post-Deleuzian resurgence of interest in the philosophies of William James, Henri Bergson and A. N. Whitehead, and the act of looking at the abstract canvas in plays by Yasmina Reza, John Logan and Lee Hall.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 30 April 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Abstracting Abstraction: A Comprehensive Exploration

Abstracting Abstraction delves into the multifaceted concept of abstraction as a central keyword in aesthetic modernism and in critical thinking since Marx. It explores the intricate relationship between abstraction and the human experience, challenging traditional notions of its difficulty and exclusivity.

The book begins by examining the writings of Raymond Williams, a key figure in the study of modernism. Williams argues that abstraction is not merely a technical or aesthetic technique but a mode of thinking that is fundamentally concerned with the importance and revaluation of the inhuman in and for the human. Through his analysis, Wallace demonstrates how abstraction serves as a tool for interrogating the boundaries between human and non-human, and for reimagining the possibilities of human existence.

Next, the book compares the writer-artists of abstraction, Paul C zanne and Barnett Newman. C zanne, known for his painterly abstractions, explored the relationship between form and color, while Newman, a sculptor, focused on the use of abstract form to convey emotional and psychological states. Wallace analyzes how these artists approached abstraction differently, highlighting their distinct contributions to the development of abstract art.

Moving beyond the realm of visual art, the book examines the experimental writings of Gertrude Stein, Wallace Stevens, and Samuel Beckett. Stein, known for her fragmented and experimental prose, explored the boundaries between language and consciousness, while Stevens, a poet, employed abstract imagery and symbolism to convey the ineffable nature of experience. Beckett, in his plays, such as Proust's Equation, delved into the complexities of language and the inhuman, challenging traditional notions of narrative and character.

Through a close study of Beckett's Proustian equation and its role in a transformed thinking of abstraction, Wallace demonstrates how abstraction can be used as a tool for rethinking the human condition. He argues that the equation serves as a metaphor for the complexities of human consciousness and the inhuman forces that shape it. By exploring the relationship between abstraction and the inhuman, Wallace offers a fresh perspective on the possibilities for human existence and the challenges we face in the modern world.

In conclusion, Abstracting Abstraction provides a comprehensive exploration of the concept of abstraction as a central keyword in aesthetic modernism and in critical thinking since Marx. It challenges traditional notions of abstraction's difficulty and exclusivity, highlighting its inclusive and democratic impulse. Through its case studies and analysis, the book offers a fresh perspective on the possibilities for human existence and the challenges we face in the modern world.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474461658