Cruelty as an Artistic Principle Cover Image

Krutost jako umělecký princip
Cruelty as an Artistic Principle

Author(s): Tereza Havelková
Subject(s): Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Recent History (1900 till today), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), History of Art
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Nakladatelství Karolinum
Keywords: Cruelty; World War II; Antonin Artaud; Theatre; Georges Bataille; Surrealism; Crucifixion; Francis Bacon; Barnett Newman

Summary/Abstract: The concept of cruelty as an artistic principle touches on the problem of violence, bodily presence and physical expression in art. By examining this aspect in the art and texts of four important figures of Western modern culture I attempt to cover a small part of this topic, which points to the existential crisis experienced around the World War II. I would like to suggest that the cruelty reflected in their texts and paintings, which is often associated with the symbol of sacrifice, exposes something fundamental about the modern man. On these four examples I will show how the way of thinking about the violence and cruelty in art shifted after the experience of war

  • Issue Year: XXVII/2021
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 221-230
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Czech
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