Episode 222 – Art is Totally Objective: On Formalism

In this episode, JF and Phi discuss formalism, a broad 20th-century movement holding that art has quantifiable structural characteristics that give it its own value and integrity, such that an artwork can be said to represent nothing but itself. The focus is on Igor Stravinsky's formalist doctrines and the essay "Formalism" by art critic Dave Hickey.

Music in this episode: "Scavenger," from PY Martel's Weird Studies Vol. 3.

For a limited time, Weirdosphere has reopened Matt Cardin's course, Writing at the Wellspring: A Course in Daemonic Creativity. For details and to enroll, visit the course page on the Weirdosphere website.

Episode art: Svanen, No. 17, by Hilma af Flint (1915).

REFERENCES

Gilles Deleuze, Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation

Dave Hickey, “Formalism,”

Igor Stravinsky, Octet for Winds

Igor Stravinsky, "Some Ideas about My Octuor”

Reinburt de Leeuw, "Liszt – Via crucis, explained"

D. H. Lawrence, English novelist

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