Clement Greenberg: His Life and theory in Art_1

The Final Exit to Reach for the Art

  

Clement Greenberg & Clement Greenberg at 100, Harvard University

 

                           III
Clement Greenberg: His Life and theory in Art

When reviewing or discussing twentieth century art
we can not but say and study on Clement Greenberg
and his theory of art to get an intrinsic understanding
of art in the modern period. His first article, “Avant-
Garde and Kitsch,”appeared in Partisan Review in the
fall of 1939 and another article, “Towards a Newer
Laocoon,”also appeared in Partisan Review in the following
year. Moreover, Greenberg published his several
art reviews and articles in the Nation from 1941 to
1949.

 

Greenberg judged and evaluated all types of art works using his
own theory of art? “Avant-Garde and Kitsch.” There have been
many debates and discussions regarding Greenberg’s art theories
and views which occurred among art critics and art historians and
are still going on even today. It is very difficult to say Greenberg’s
art theories are absolutely right but it seems to me his theories and
thoughts on art are valuable to review and study. Greenberg’s
main theory on art is based on the theory of avant-garde art. His
main effort is to define avant-garde art and to differentiate avantgarde
from the notion of Kitsch. He had maintained his point of
view of avant-garde until his death in 1994, even though he slightly
modified his theory around 1953.7)Greenberg’s main effort for
establishing the notion of avant-garde art became a catalyst for the
growth of Abstract-ｅxpressionism as a predominant style of art in
the modern history of art (1950s).

1. Brief Life History of Clement Greenberg and his theory of
Avant-Garde Art

I will divide Greenberg’s career as an art critic into two parts?
a political art critic and an apolitical art critic and will review his
main theory of art ?“ avant-garde art.”

 

As an Art Critic with social and political views
(1939 -1950s)

Clement Greenberg, the one of the best known art
theorists in our era, was born in the Bronx, in New
York, 1909. His family was originally from a
Lithuanian-Jewish origin in north-eastern Poland and
he could spoke and understood five languages including
English, Yiddish, German, French, and Italian.

Greenberg posits an idea of modern art in
arguably his the most influential paper, ‘Avant-garde
and Kitsch (1939).’In this paper, Greenberg tries to
differentiate the notion of avant-garde from the notion
of Kitsch. According to him avant-garde is higher art
form than kitsch. And, in other words, avant-garde is a
product of society’s Elites, while kitsch is a product of
the mass and average peoples based on industrialization
(capitalization). His views were based on a
Socialism and Marxism influenced by his parents.8) I
believe Greenberg wrote his article,“ Avant-Garde and
Kitsch,”based on the Socialist concept, even though
some scholars such as Serge Guilbaut argues that

Greenberg started to depart from Marxism at this time in 1939.9)
Guilbaut insists that many elites during this period (1930s) including
Greenberg were very disappointed with Marxism seeing what
they deem to be several irrational events in the Soviet Union such
as the People’s Front in 1935 and the public trials (Judicia Populi)
from 1934 - 1938. At this they changed their thought from
Marxism to Trotskyism. This is true and I agree with this idea, but
my point is that even though Greenberg changed his thought to
Trotskyism he kept his social political interests in mind.10)

It seems to me that the difference between elite and average
people is not social and economic status but educational and philosophical
status. Greenberg tries to distinguish the elite culture from
the mass culture. In the process of this the form of avant-garde art
becomes rather abstract (meaningful abstract). Avant-garde artists try
to catch the essence of subject matters in the way of self-criticism
to get to the flatness, final goal of avant-garde art, and they did not
just portray realistic figures a way of conceptualization (philosophical
way).

Greenberg argues that the elements of flatness disappeared by
the Renaissance artists. Renaissance artists used the techniques of

chiaroscuro and shaded modeling, then they abandoned
the elements of flatness ? two dimensional
aspects such as primary colors and clear contour
lines.11) But, in nineteenth century, the aspects of
Renaissance art started to be broken by Courbet.
According to Greenberg, Courbet was the first avantgarde
artist in terms of“ a new flatness.”Courbet tried
to reduce his art to portray scenes by describing only
what the eye could see as a machine departed from our
imagination and from official bourgeois art.12) This
avant-grade movement influenced to impressionist and
post-impressionist artists such as Cezanne, Manet,
Monet, and others. These artists did not portray the
nature as looking as real or followed by the realistic
tradition and their imagination. They were interested in
color vibration ? their individual interest and a kind of
“creativity or innovation.”This beginning of the
avant-garde movement was succeeded to Fauvist artist
such as Matisse and finally, the base of avant-garde art
was molded by the cubist artists such as Picasso and
Braque ? Collage, “Flatness.”13) Greenberg insists that
cubist artists succeeded in fully describing three-

dimensionality by using two-dimensionality (flatness).

ⓒ 모암문고 www.moamcollection.org