Publication: James Johnson Sweeney: "Tastebreaker and tastemaker": aportaciones al relato oficial del arte moderno, 1934-1975
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2017-11-22
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Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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Abstract
Esta tesis doctoral se concentra en el trabajo del crítico de arte, comisario y director de museo James Johnson Sweeney (1900-1986) y en su impacto en el ámbito artístico e institucional. Para ello, observa su actividad profesional en un marco cronológico amplio, estudia las reacciones de la crítica de arte respecto a las nuevas tendencias contemporáneas y repasa las políticas expositivas y adquisitivas generales de las instituciones de las que Sweeney forma parte. De esta manera, se pretende determinar el posicionamiento de Sweeney en el discurso oficial del arte moderno teniendo en cuenta los factores locales y globales en los que se circunscribe. Los resultados de esta investigación sitúan a James Johnson Sweeney como una importante figura para el mundo del arte ya desde los años treinta. Sus primeras exposiciones en The Renaissance Society de Chicago en 1934 anuncian una visión original a la vez que un conocimiento profundo del arte moderno. Las semejanzas descubiertas entre el trabajo realizado por Sweeney en Chicago (que incluye la publicación de un esclarecedor estudio sobre los movimientos de vanguardia, Plastic Redirections in 20th Century Painting) con las posteriores propuestas de Alfred H. Barr, Jr. (1902-1981), primer director del Museum of Modern Art, ofrecen nuevos matices a la lectura de la creación de la narrativa del arte moderno y demuestran que los planteamientos de Sweeney se inscriben dentro del discurso oficial desde los inicios de su actividad. Dentro de este discurso elaborado por Sweeney, esta tesis doctoral se concentra en destacar dos rasgos fundamentales y relacionados entre sí: una predilección por el arte más actual e innovador, que le lleva a interesarse por el arte contemporáneo, y un profundo interés por las tradiciones artísticas que conceden prioridad a cuestiones expresivas y subjetivas. Respecto a esta última preferencia, Sweeney lleva a cabo una importante reivindicación del arte de algunas culturas no-occidentales como el arte tribal africano, el de las culturas del Pacífico o expresiones artísticas prehispánicas. En este sentido, Sweeney realiza una labor fundamental para la legitimación de expresiones culturales que habían sido excluidas de la historia del arte universal hasta ese momento...
This doctoral thesis focuses on the work of art critic, curator, and museum director James Johnson Sweeney (1900-1986), and the impact of his work on the artistic and institutional domains of influence. With that purpose, this thesis considers his professional activity in a broad chronological framework, studies the responses of art criticism to the new contemporary tendencies, and reviews the general exhibition and acquisition policies of the institutions which Sweeney worked. In this way, it tries to determine Sweeney’s place in the official discourse of modern art, taking into account the local and global environment in which his career transpired. The results of this research establish James Johnson Sweeney as an essential figure in the art world as early as the 1930s. His first exhibitions at The Renaissance Society of Chicago in 1934 heralded his in-depth understanding as well as his original interpretation of avant-garde art. The similarities discovered between Sweeney's work in Chicago (including the publication of a comprehensive study of avant-garde movements, Plastic Redirection in 20th Century Painting) and the subsequent projects of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. (1902-1981), first director of the Museum of Modern Art, offer a new perspective on the established modern art narrative. This doctoral thesis highlights two fundamental traits in Sweeney’s work: a predilection for the most innovative and contemporary art, and his deep interest in artistic traditions that emphasize expressivity and subjectivity. Regarding the latter, Sweeney makes a fundamental vindication of the aesthetic and spiritual value of the art of some non-Western cultures such as African tribal art, that of Pacific cultures, or pre-Hispanic artistic expressions. In this way, Sweeney legitimizes cultural expressions that had been excluded from the universal art history narrative until then. Exhibitions such as African Negro Art (Museum of Modern Art, 1935) or The Olmec Tradition (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1963) represent true milestones in the history of museography. In this sense, this thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the complex process by which modern art was defined and delineated in the thirties...
This doctoral thesis focuses on the work of art critic, curator, and museum director James Johnson Sweeney (1900-1986), and the impact of his work on the artistic and institutional domains of influence. With that purpose, this thesis considers his professional activity in a broad chronological framework, studies the responses of art criticism to the new contemporary tendencies, and reviews the general exhibition and acquisition policies of the institutions which Sweeney worked. In this way, it tries to determine Sweeney’s place in the official discourse of modern art, taking into account the local and global environment in which his career transpired. The results of this research establish James Johnson Sweeney as an essential figure in the art world as early as the 1930s. His first exhibitions at The Renaissance Society of Chicago in 1934 heralded his in-depth understanding as well as his original interpretation of avant-garde art. The similarities discovered between Sweeney's work in Chicago (including the publication of a comprehensive study of avant-garde movements, Plastic Redirection in 20th Century Painting) and the subsequent projects of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. (1902-1981), first director of the Museum of Modern Art, offer a new perspective on the established modern art narrative. This doctoral thesis highlights two fundamental traits in Sweeney’s work: a predilection for the most innovative and contemporary art, and his deep interest in artistic traditions that emphasize expressivity and subjectivity. Regarding the latter, Sweeney makes a fundamental vindication of the aesthetic and spiritual value of the art of some non-Western cultures such as African tribal art, that of Pacific cultures, or pre-Hispanic artistic expressions. In this way, Sweeney legitimizes cultural expressions that had been excluded from the universal art history narrative until then. Exhibitions such as African Negro Art (Museum of Modern Art, 1935) or The Olmec Tradition (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1963) represent true milestones in the history of museography. In this sense, this thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the complex process by which modern art was defined and delineated in the thirties...
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Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Departamento de Historia del Arte III (Contemporáneo), leída el 18-07-2017