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Comment on Rosalind Krauss’s “In the Name of Picasso”, in ‘The Originality of the Avant-Garde and other Modernist Myths’. How does her discussion of Picasso’s work differ from that of Clement Greenberg?

A comparison of the critical approaches of Clement Greenberg and Rosalind Krauss entails a consideration of two theoretical approaches to Modern Art which differ variously, by definition. Greenberg, a Modernist, Formalist conducts an analysis inevitably imbued with associated theoretical concerns, with Krauss approaching Modern Art from a retrospective, Postmodern, Feminist stance.

Greenberg’s Modernist, Formalist approach is characterized in various ways. A firm believer in the concept of the very, “Avant-Garde” Krauss refers to as, “myth”, he considers Modern Art in terms of what he perceives to be its qualities of originality, innovation and progression. Indeed he sees this art as possessing an inner aesthetic logic, advancing towards an envisaged formal conclusion. This view can be seen as exemplified in his influential essay, as he refers to Modern Art and, “its continuation” (Greenberg 759), referring to, “phase” (Greenberg 756), and the notion of it ‘endin...

Posted by: Garrick Christian

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