Modern art is a unique creation all it's own, and since it's beginnings there have been two

very distinct groups present. They are the Formalists and the Avant-Garde. The Formalist group

believes in the literal representation of the art work. They value the form used, whether it be how

the colors are stressed or the techniques used, over the idea behind the art work. The

Avant-Garde artists on the other hand are more interested in the creation of art in order to

challenge what exactly art is and can be. They have tried to break down the boundaries of what

I selected Piet Modrian for as the artist I looked at regarding Formalism. His work

seemed to change over a period of time. His "Woods" done in 1910 showed a typical painting of

the forest. By typical I mean that the depiction of the forest was done to look like a forest on the

canvas. The next piece of "Tree" done in 1911 showed a more abstract form of trees while you

could still detect on a lot of movement within the painting. The shapes and negative space

between the lines is what became more important in his work. He then created "Composition

urinal more than just a urinal. It was now a urinal portraying a urinal at an art gallery. His

The thought process of these two authors was quite different in their workings of art.

tension between reality and artwork. He was also trying to enact social change by getting people

to look at things from a different perspective. Burger describe this process in several ways. First

pure essence of the artwork. While he was trying to get down to this essence I feel that he

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jacques Lacan8, Burger Avant-Garde, Clement Greenberg, Entitled Fountain, Composition Trees, Mondrian Duchamp, Piet Modrian, Avant-Garde Formalist, Fountain Duchamp, Artwork Modern, negative space, primary colors, boundaries art, trying create, artwork trying, flatness comes, everyday item, modern art, idea flatness comes, idea flatness, straight lines, negative space lines,
Approximate Word count = 1497
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)