The Will to Form: Forces of Bildung in Concepts of Form around 1800
J.H.W. Tischebin, A Prehistoric Stone Circle on a Mound, an Extensive Landscape Beyond
20.1 x 32.4 cm, Black chalk or graphite on paper
20.1 x 32.4 cm, Black chalk or graphite on paper
My project traces a genealogy of the specific notion of form as the product of a will to form in excess of its determination by natural mechanisms. In the early nineteenth century, artists and the discourse of aesthetics responded to the increasing influence of technological and scientific determination by positing the impact of human agency on creative processes as a force analogous to the formative drive of an organism—a force best summarized as a will to form.
The departure point for this genealogical inquiry is Blumenbach’s postulation of a formative force in Ueber den Bildungstrieb (1781), particularly as it was received in Kant’s Kritik der Urteilskraft and then became influential for emerging discussions in aesthetics. Of particular interest to me in the field aesthetics are the concepts of form and form-determining forces in particular Schopenhauer’s will (Welt als Wille und Vorstellung 1819) and Schlegel’s theory of the novel as a formless hybrid (Brief über den Roman, Ueber Goethes Meister 1798). The project concludes with a look toward the emergence of formalist schools of art history in the late nineteenth century.
A key focus of my inquiry is the use of the image as a metaphor for the unity of diverse forms, including natural organisms and narrative genres. Form constitutes the visible actualization of a formative process (Bildung) and is accordingly defined by its iconic qualities. Conversely, the discussion of form points back to a conceptualization of the image. For example, the metamorphosis of forms attributes dynamic, temporal qualities to the image. The project thereby examines the relationship of form and image as one of mutual definition by which the semantics of one is called upon as a descriptive register for the other.
The departure point for this genealogical inquiry is Blumenbach’s postulation of a formative force in Ueber den Bildungstrieb (1781), particularly as it was received in Kant’s Kritik der Urteilskraft and then became influential for emerging discussions in aesthetics. Of particular interest to me in the field aesthetics are the concepts of form and form-determining forces in particular Schopenhauer’s will (Welt als Wille und Vorstellung 1819) and Schlegel’s theory of the novel as a formless hybrid (Brief über den Roman, Ueber Goethes Meister 1798). The project concludes with a look toward the emergence of formalist schools of art history in the late nineteenth century.
A key focus of my inquiry is the use of the image as a metaphor for the unity of diverse forms, including natural organisms and narrative genres. Form constitutes the visible actualization of a formative process (Bildung) and is accordingly defined by its iconic qualities. Conversely, the discussion of form points back to a conceptualization of the image. For example, the metamorphosis of forms attributes dynamic, temporal qualities to the image. The project thereby examines the relationship of form and image as one of mutual definition by which the semantics of one is called upon as a descriptive register for the other.