188 pages, 45 colour illustrations Index
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Kimmo Pasanen The Black Square. The Secrets of Abstract Art (The book is in Finnish, English translation forthcoming) In the early 20th century, strange things began happening in art. Cubists shattered the window the Renaissance masters had opened on the world and ransacked the space they had penetrated, breaking into pieces the objects and subjects within it. The Italian Futurists worshipped speed and leapt into the driver's seat of racecars and airplanes to roar into the new era. But nobody was prepared for the shock wave caused by the Russian artists who in 1915 exhibited paintings in which only plain geometrical forms, black and red squares, were visible. This baffled the public, and viewers remain at loss when faced with such artworks. The Russians went on to declare that painting had come to its end as an art form. Alas, not only did painting move forward more vigorously than ever. Half a century later in New York artists began creating black squares similar to those of their Russian predecessors, and once again these were declared to be the last paintings to be made.
In his book Kimmo Pasanen unravels the secrets of these mysterious paintings and leads us back to their origins and historic roots. Under his guidance we delve into the medieval debate on the nature of images, when theologians battled the Iconoclasts. After the great inventions and artistic assurance of the Renaissance era we move into the turmoil of late 18th-century Europe, when revolutionary ideas challenged established canons in all walks of life. Romantic philosophers and poets found a new source for art, placing the artist at the core of artistic creation, while the Realists declared their new credo of "art for art's sake". The seeds of modern art were sown and a century later began blooming in the form of abstract art, the multiple facets of which Pasanen explores with scholarly insight.
Pasanen's well-paced story covers the major artistic movements of the modern era. He explains the what, who and why of modern art, delivering a thorough overview of the subject. A discussion in lay terms of some of the main philosophical issues involved concludes his artistic panorama and provides tools for further studies on art."Pasanen takes the reader into the artists' discussion with admirable clarity and style. His text is crystalline and readily understandable, the book meticulous and carefully laid out."
- Marja Kuparinen, Kirkko ja kaupunki