Overview
This work examines the presence of the grotesque in fiction, plastic arts, and films, to interpret the postmodern artistic phenomenon. The study analyzes the evolution of the grotesque and reveals different levels of grotesque imagery and its possible meanings in the works of three authors: Machado de Assis, Camilo Jose Cela, and Alejandra Pizarnik. The study of the grotesque has mostly been developed around literary works and its techniques and images. The vast production of grotesque art in its diverse forms however, was not observed to answer some of the vital questions that arise when we think of the grotesque as a genre. Why does this genre keep returning over time? Is the perception of the grotesque same for all of us? Does liking or disliking the grotesque have an anthropological or psychological explanation? Thus, this study examines the aspects of today's artistic production through the lenses of the grotesque. Contemporary artistic attitudes are different from past ones; presently, individualism and openness seem to be the main characteristics of art. Circumstances like these could have been the motivation for artists to look for new aesthetic elements. The feelings and emotions that arise in these works differ from the works of earlier authors - unlike artists from earlier periods, contemporary artists see the grotesque not as a mere tool, but as a goal.
Full Product Details
Author: Myung Choi
Publisher: The Edwin Mellen Press Ltd
Imprint: Edwin Mellen Press Ltd
ISBN: 9780773438446
ISBN 10: 0773438440
Pages: 132
Publication Date: October 2009
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
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Reviews
... shows how the extravagances and distortions of the Grotesque are hospitable either to agendas of social reformism or to the quite different spirit of postmodernist relativism with its rejection of determinate meanings and values. - Prof. David A. Flory Purdue University [The author's] argument is convincing and lends a new voice to an area of study that is often limited in its focus of specific art forms or time periods. - Prof. Khamla Dhouti Martinez California State University
"""... shows how the extravagances and distortions of the Grotesque are hospitable either to agendas of social reformism or to the quite different spirit of postmodernist relativism with its rejection of determinate meanings and values."" - Prof. David A. Flory Purdue University ""[The author's] argument is convincing and lends a new voice to an area of study that is often limited in its focus of specific art forms or time periods."" - Prof. Khamla Dhouti Martinez California State University"""
