Blending Objecthood And Spirituality

Hans Hofmann is a key figure of American Abstract Expressionism,whose masterpiece is a series of "slab paintings" that use large rectangular blocks of color interspersed and overlapping to create a strong sense of architectural space.But in fact,Hofmann,during his long career,experimented with various styles including but not limited to Cezannesque,Picassosque,Matisseesque,Seuratesque,Miróesque,Kandinskyesque,Legeresque,Mondrianesque,Malevichesque,Delaunayesque,and the later ones that gradually broke away from the European modern style.His typical"brick painting",even if In the last decade or so of its most originality,was just one look of his various styles.For Hofmann,the European style,the Pollock-like dripping,the Rothko-like large flat painting,and the repeatedly overlapping "bricks" setting,are only methods,not destination.Therefore,in order to clarify the logic of Hofmann’s stylistic development,we must examine and analyze his artistic ideas,methods,and purposes comprehensively.In this dissertation,I will discuss how Hofmann gradually explored the value of objects,media and subjects in such a seemingly contradictory concept from two perspectives:the "objecthood" generated by objects and expressive media,and the "spirituality" generated by artists as creative subjects and viewers as empathy subjects.In the midst of these seemingly contradictory concepts,Hofmann gradually explores the value of artistic expression of object,medium and subject,forms his own ambiguous yet rational creative logic,and produces works that meet the relevant requirements of "real of visual art" but are also very different in style.