Data and taste as polar opposites. An impressionate wash and an expressionate super reality. The work will contain elements of both, flickering in between, leaning towards a personal point.
I will discuss the differences between impressionism and expressionism and relate it to my work and vision.
The terms were popularised as two distinct art movements: impressionism in France in the late 19th century, and expressionism in Austria and Germany in the early 20th century. Artists who were friends painted in new ways. Both movements “reacted to the rapidly changing urban environments” and “criticized the dehumanising affects of industrialisation” says wiki. The paintings can now be found decorating the lives of those nasty industrialists, or sitting zazen in corporate corridors.
The paintings also proliferate in art institutions and many are available for free for the public. The range of people who will visit these paintings is a fraction. Who’s reading about impressionism? I never heard of these terms when I was a little country boy in Ireland. How do I morph my post-famine illiteration to absorb contemporary discourse? Should I fit my artistic vision under such terms that limit a unique expression formed in unique circumstance?
It would be naive to think that the movements of impressionism and expressionism did not penetrate my world from birth to departure from the cowlands. We will have our own impression of what these terms mean and how to use them to take advantage of the offerings of those fine art institutions. We will work on the backs of the rich!
Not really. In classical music, impressionism is a generally more light and sensuous style than the more serious and psychological style of expressionism. Impressionist music defines the mood and atmosphere of the moment. It often carries a tensionless harmony. Expressionist music is a more abstract representation of the specific thing. According to wikipedia, expressionist music often features a high level of dissonance, extreme contrasts of dynamics, constant changing of textures, “distorted” melodies and harmonies, and angular melodies with wide leaps. “Presto In C Major” by Scheonberg, an influential expressionist composer, is narrative, pompous and dramatic. I imagine erotic glances across the ballroom, a dash of heel… Meanwhile, in “Une barque sur l’océan” the impressionist Ravel creates an ambient wash of loosely defined moods. A poet looks across the sea in psychotropic light, thinking of first love. Scheonberg tells me how to feel and I feel suffocated, whereas Ravel gently stimulates the awareness out to the world and allows for personal exploration. Scheonberg the dictator, Ravel the anarchist?
On ‘Canvas’, a blog by Saatchi art, the question is proposed “Do you prefer the spontaneity of Impressionism or the intensity of Expressionism?” I love, crave and often require the ambient wash of everyday soundscapes, or ambient music. I don’t like the dictation of feeling considered expressionist. When life already feels psychedelic, perhaps my residual cowlandedness, I want flavour enhancers, not additives. I like wallpaper so I can sit in the room. Life is spontaneous rather than narrative, and art that can stimulate awareness beyond ourselves is crucial in a period of alienating individualism.
Binaries are a simplification. There are moments when I love the intensity of more expressionate work. And we must send messages to one another! In Silicon Valley the elites meditate and continue expanding the power of the metaverse. Within spaciousness we should implant messages, or ethics. Within the impression there can be an expression.
I would lean more towards impressionism in my aesthetics. I compose ambient music with environmental soundscapes. My intention is to settle the mind and bring the attention outwards. There are other duties to take place. Art warriors!