The Life of Forms in Art : Modernism, Organism, Vitality

What is form in modern art? How could a work of art achieve its organic life in a world increasingly dominated by mechanism, by new technology? In this new book, Brandon Taylor proposes that biology and the life sciences themselves supplied many of the analogies and metaphors by which modern artists were guided. For the creative giants of the period - Picasso, Miró, Kandinsky, Strzeminski, Dalí, Arp, Motherwell and Pollock, as well as less-known figures such as Taeuber, Erni and Kobro - questions of 'living' form loomed large in studio conversation, in the press, and in the writings of the artists themselves.

In a book rich in new research and fresh thinking, a well-known art historian proposes six modalities of organic and vital life that pervade the radical experiments of modern art: the organic, the biomorphic, the ambiguous, the monstrous, the dialectical, and the liquid.

“This book is a tour de force by one of the foremost scholars of abstract art. Delving into a fascinating array of scientific and philosophical sources, Brandon Taylor invites us to think afresh about modern art's enduring preoccupation with dynamic processes and the becoming of forms. Across a broad range of compelling analyses, he unearths little-known gems and sheds valuable new light on canonical examples. Like the artworks that it brings into sharp focus, the argument teems with vital energy.” —Eric Robertson, Professor of Modern French Literary and Visual Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

“Brandon Taylor's remarkable study of the pervasive impact of vitalist concepts of “aesthetic monism” on the interwar avant-garde is an important and timely contribution that greatly enriches our understanding of the art and culture of this complex era.” —Mark Antliff, Anne Murnick Cogan Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History, Duke University, USA