Balancing Acts: The Acrobatics of Form and Force from 1900 to 1930

Download or read book Balancing Acts: The Acrobatics of Form and Force from 1900 to 1930 written by Malika Maskarinec and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Balancing Acts" presents a modernist notion of form conceived of as the site of contest between force and counterforce as it unfolds in German aesthetics, art criticism, and literature between 1900 and 1930. Central to texts examined here is the thought that all corporeal forms, including human subjects and artistic artifacts, are subject to mechanical forces that ceaselessly challenge their equilibrium. This notion of form emerges as a descriptive register for the visual arts, a foundation for anthropological inquiry, and an ambition of modernist narration. A study of the variegated aesthetic and social semantics across these registers unmasks the corporeal, heavy, and heroic aspects of German Modernism.