Mathematic and Dynamic Sublime
I wanted to try my best to quantify my observations about space. As it turns out I couldn’t find too many theories/ Ideas on the subject. Katharina Grosse makes some good points during and interview but I have already covered them in a previous post.
I did however find one point of view that could be applied to my problem; Kant’s theory of mathematical and dynamic sublime.
Definition of the Mathematical Sublime: The ability to comprehend the size of something without being able to view the object in it’s entirety- the experience of overwhelming vastness.
Kant illustrates his theory with the example of a pyramid: It takes time for your eye to go from the base to the top (if you are near the object). During that time some parts of your observation will disappear from your imagination. And as you still have to observe later parts you can never fully comprehend the pyramid. The viewer is only able to comprehend what he is seeing due to his ‘theoretical reasoning’.
Theoretical as opposed to practical reasoning is defined as ones ability to see/ understand the object as a whole (in the minds eye) and the reactions preceding.
Practical reason is the face value account of something, and the reactions/ responses preceding, ie feeling of being overwhelmed.
With all this in mind one can begin to apply to abstract painting. I believe exactly the same can be said for painting but with one, or perhaps two differences.
Abstract painting is defined by itself, the viewer has no preconceptions of what it looks like. Therefore theoretical reasoning fails.A painting could be representation of something not the actual thing it self. But since I am looking at abstract paintings this point doesn’t apply
What would the effect be of a painting that was so big it conformed to Kant’s mathematical Sublime but is also abstract.; resulting in theoretical reasoning not applying?
It could result in the mathematical sublime- the work being the source of immeasurable vastness that triggers the experience.
Also the experience will depend heavily on what the viewer is confronted with in terms of the colours used in the paintings, how the colours are arranged- the patterns, shapes, lines angles etc of the painting.
I should point out that the sublime is not something I am striving to realise in my work. It is just that Kant’s theory is applicable to the concept of space that I am exploring.
