The Influence of Mondrian and Neoplasticism Matthew Burleigh – 20950992
Since its conception in 1917, and its popularisation and evolution in the hands of Dutch painter and designer Piet Mondrian, neoplasticism has been both criticised and praised by people across the globe. Neoplasticism, also known as De Stijl (Dutch for “the style”) is a set of principles in art that condone absolute abstraction and universality by reducing such essentials as colour and form.1 Despite its significant number of critics, it cannot be denied that Mondrian’s ideas regarding neoplasticism have had a profound influence on art, culture and architecture. Whether this influence could be considered good or bad is up for debate, however. This essay will discuss the effects and influences of Mondrian and neoplasticism on art, culture and architecture in not only past years, but the present day as well. By definition, neoplasticism was a 20th century modern art form that emphasised the absolute basics of art, resulting in a new form of expression that strongly represented the machine age.2 Although there have been conflicting views on the importance of neoplasticism in art, with the style often being claimed as simply “a fad”, there is no denying the fact that it was a prominent style during the times of its conception. To be specific, De Stijl is used to describe a number of works between 1917 and 1931. One such example of the painting style of neoplasticism is Mondrian’s 1921 painting Composition with Red, Black, Blue and Yellow. Although Mondrian remains one of the better known artists behind the neoplasticism movement, there were a variety of different artists that formed the driving force behind the creation of the style. It is better to consider this movement as a collaboration between a number of different artists including Theo van Doesburg, rather than simply Piet Mondrian by himself.3 Neoplasticism marked a huge change in the ways in which artists painted. Mondrian wrote "this new plastic idea will ignore the particulars of appearance. On the contrary, it should find its expression in the abstraction.”4 As such, neoplasticism became one of the first movements that simplified painting so that an artist’s work could express itself in a less literal fashion, and become purely abstract in its most perfect form. While many artists of the time did not approve of this new form of expression, it became a somewhat revolutionary style regardless and continues to inspire to this day.
1
"De Stijl." De Stijl. http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/decstijl.htm (accessed April 4, 2014).
2
Barnhart, Debra, and Kaci Hindman. "What is Neoplasticism?." WiseGeek. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-neoplasticism.htm (accessed April 5, 2014).
3
Barnhart, Debra, and Kaci Hindman. loc.cit
4
Champa, Kermit Swiler. Mondrian studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.
In more recent times, neoplasticism has morphed into the more ambigious style known as colour blocking. Put simply, colour blocking is when a pair of two or three different colours are put together with the intention of making a bold statement.5 While some of the creatives behind the new style such as Yves Saint Laurent have been directly inspired by neoplasticism, it is no longer focused on straight horizontal and vertical lines, and can also feature zig-zags, concentric circles, indescribable shapes, and plain patches of colour.6 On top of this, the colours used are no longer primary, they come in all crayola hues from rich gem hues to pastels. While colour blocking is merely one example of the evolution of neoplasticism in the modern age, for many artists it still remains unchanged. As such, rather than the actual art form, it could be argued that it was the principles of the movement that transcended time the best. Using the principles of neoplasticism, it is said that the overall subject of art is balanced proportion and harmony and the art form is used to depict the objective, rather than the literal.7 These principles remain present in many works of art such as Robert Motherwell’s 1978 Reconciliation Elegy. Although it belongs to a completely different style, it can be argued that it was inspired by the very principles of neoplasticism’s pure abstraction. The principles and ideas of neoplasticism have not only had a profound effect on art, however, it has also had a significant cultural presence. While Mondrian consistently argued that neoplasticism was not intended as decoration and it should not be used in that way,8 the fact is that it has been undeniably accepted within modern society as such. To this day, many people choose to hang replications of the neoplasticist’s works in their homes as mere decorative paintings and similarly, the ideas of neoplasticism have been incorporated into fashion, the design of furniture as well as architecture. A shining example of the inclusion of neoplasticism in a more functional manner within society during the times of the movement is The Red and Blue Chair designed in 1917 by Gerrit Rietveld. This chair marks one of the first explorations of neoplasticism in a three dimensional fashion and also showed how neoplasticism could be included within a social setting as a functional piece rather than just from an artistic standpoint.9 Despite the perceived success of Gerrit Rietveld’s chair, neoplasticism never quite took off within a social setting during the main years of its conception and this could potentially have been caused by Mondrian, amongst other neoplasticists, sharing the view that neoplasticism should not be used in a decorative
5
"The Geekier Side Of Style." style syllabus. http://stylesyllabus.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/the-de-stijl-influence/ (accessed April 5, 2014).
6
"The Geekier Side Of Style. Loc.cit
7
"The Geekier Side Of Style. Loc.cit
8
Bois, Yve-Alain. "Mondrian and the Theory of Architecture." Assemblage 4, no. 4 (1987): 102-130. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3171039? uid=3737536&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21103634878761 (accessed April 3, 2014).
9
"THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php? object_id=4044 (accessed April 4, 2014).
sense.10 Although neoplasticism was not consistently seen throughout society during the time of the De Stijl movement, it has become quite popular within society in a more modern age. Although neoplasticism may not be viewed as quite so revolutionary these days as it had been in the past, it holds quite a substantial role within society to this day. One specific example is the aforementioned colour blocking which can be seen as an evolved form of neoplasticism. This form of artistic expression has been very commonly associated with fashion,11 and serves to show how neoplasticism has evolved to suit the cultural shift of today’s society. Mondrian and other key neoplasticists may not necessarily agree with how society has changed their principles and beliefs to better fit in with people’s ever changing ideas of beauty and the abstract, but there is no denying that the De Stijl movement has had a pivotal role in influencing fashion in today’s society. Similarly, neoplasticism has made appearances within modern day pop culture, such as in the 1970s television show The Partridge Family. Throughout the television show, the main characters, the Partridge family, could be seen travelling everywhere using a 1957 Chevrolet school bus painted using Mondrian’s work as inspiration.12 Although it was never stated why exactly the bus was painted to resemble one of Mondrian’s compositions, it is clear that neoplasticism was the inspiration for the buses unique paintjob. In addition to its influence on fashion and pop culture, one of the areas in which it could be argued that neoplasticism had a profound effect is architecture. Mondrian had very strong views when it came to the crossing over of various arts such as painting and architecture. He believed that neoplasticism should not be applied to architecture, however, he also believed that the very principles of neoplasticism would be what could achieve the most pure form of architecture.13 Despite him commenting during his life time that he believed that no form of architecture had or ever would achieve the pure form that he envisioned, it could be argued that some buildings drew upon neoplasticism for inspiration within their design. The best and foremost example of this is the Rietveld Schroder House, built in 1924 by the Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld; the man also behind the aforementioned Red and Blue Chair.14 While there have been a number of attempts by architects to produce structures that represented the principles and ideas of neoplasticism, it is said that the Rietveld Schroder House is the only true De Stijl building.15 Using the very principles of neoplasticism, the cubic shaped building was created in a fashion that creates the appearance that its volume is broken, almost dematerialised, after which it is reassembled 10
Bois, Yve-Alain. Loc.cit
11
"The Geekier Side Of Style. Loc.cit
12 "Of pop music, school buses and neoplasticism." Hemmings Daily News for the collector car enthusiast RSS. http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/09/25/of-pop-music-school-buses-andneoplasticism/ (accessed April 5, 2014). 13
Bois, Yve-Alain. Loc.cit
14
Bois, Yve-Alain. Loc.cit
15 Hanson, Julienne. "Visibility and Permeability in the Rietveld Schroder House." In Decoding
homes and houses. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 196-213.
into primary elements such as lines and planes, which manage to expose the interior of the building with its transparency.16 Although Rietveld claimed he was totally uninterested in Mondrian’s theories on architecture, his work is arguably very similar to Mondrian’s envisioned ideas regarding architecture. Although he may not have been inspired by Mondrian, it would seem Rietveld was inspired by the same ideas and principles that gave Mondrian his inspiration. Despite no other buildings having managed to achieve the same grandeur and appreciation as the Rietveld Schroder house did as a De Stijl building, many architectural structures in this day and age could also be said to have been inspired by neoplasticism. Mondrian had a very narrow view as to what he considered to be neoplastic architecture. He believed that the building in question had to be designed exactly as he envisioned for it to be considered true and pure architecture in a neoplastic sense.17 Because of this view, nothing to this day can truly be considered the pure De Stijl architecture that he envisioned. However, despite his eccentricity regarding the matter of neoplastic architecture, the principles he proposed were quite appropriate when applied to architecture. As such, architectural creations in the modern age are more easily inspired and influenced by some, if not all, of the principles of neoplasticism rather than the art form itself. It has been said that Mondrian’s strange two-dimensional standards, principles and theories created a new way of thinking in three dimensions. However, by themselves, it appears that Mondrian’s principles are limited by his narrow experience within his own discipline.18 Despite this, however, much of what can be said for two dimensions can also be said for three dimensions. One such example of a modern day architect who was inspired by Mondrian’s principles regarding two dimensions and chose to display this inspiration in his work was Cesar Pelli. While he was designing the expansion of the Museum of Modern Art building, his admiration for Mondrian is clear through his use of “sophisticated skins of irregular grids of black mullion”. The skin has been referred to as ‘mondrianesque’ and serves as an example of historical reference and a symbol of adjoining museum’s purpose.19 As such, along with art and culture, architecture has been very heavily influenced and changed by the principles of Mondrian and neoplasticism. 16
"MY ARCHITECTURAL MOLESKIN: GERRIT RIETVELD: SCHRODER HOUSE." MY ARCHITECTURAL MOLESKIN: GERRIT RIETVELD: SCHRODER HOUSE. http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/gerrit-rietveld-schroder-house.html (accessed April 5, 2014).
17 Bois, Yve-Alain. Loc.cit
18
Fez-Barrington, Barie. "Metametaphors and Mondrian: Neo-plasticism and its influences on architecture." Academia. http://www.academia.edu/177638/_Metametaphors_And_Mondrian_NeoPlasticism_And_Its_Influences_In_Architecture_ (accessed April 5, 2014).
19
Al-Saati, Abdulaziz. "Mondrian: Neo-Plasticism and its influences in Architecture." Journal of the Faculty of Architecture of the Middle East Technical University 9 (1990): 63-74. http://jfa.arch.metu.edu.tr/archive/0258-5316/1990/cilt10/sayi_1_2/63-74.pdf (accessed April 5, 2014).
Piet Mondrian’s narrow view on the applications of neoplasticism within society and architecture, led him to believe that its application was best suited to painting. Despite this, many people throughout both the time of the De Stijl movement and the modern age have attempted, and in some cases succeeded, to emulate both his works and principles of neoplasticism. While the idea of pure abstraction and universality can be hard to transfer into certain mediums, many artists such as Yves Saint Laurent, and to an extent, Gerrit Rietveld have been influenced by the works of Mondrian, or more specifically, the principles surrounding neoplasticism. In conclusion, it can be argued that Mondrian and neoplasticism had a heavy influence on art, culture and architecture, as well as how these art forms are perceived.
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The Influence of Mondrian and Neoplasticism
ARCT2010 Matthew Burleigh 20950992