On Material Application And Spiritual Quest In Art Creation

At present,various artistic forms are contending with one another and present a complex pluralistic pattern in modern art;meanwhile,the material properties of artistic works are further strengthened.It has become a growing trend to re-examine the"materials" so as to avoid pursuing the pure artistic visual effects and piling various pigments on the media materials,to get rid of the "artistic materialization",and to create"artistic works of spirit and meaning".Contemporary artists are constantly exploring the free transformation and "grafting" of art forms:easel painting,synthetic materials,photography,installations and performance art,and thinking about how to unify forms and concepts.This thesis makes a case study of Anselm Kiefer,a German neo-expressionist painter.Based on an analysis of the utilization and manifestation of materials in his works in light of his artistic thoughts,as well as the author ’s own practice in easel painting,theater,and performance art,it elaborates on the relationship between materials and spiritual quests in contemporary artistic creation.This thesis is mainly divided into four parts.First,it reviews the history of art materials,discussing the link between materials and the development of diverse art forms,laying a foundation for the following exploration of the use of materials in art;Second,on the basis of Anselm Kiefer’s artistic thoughts and works,it deals with the close relationship between the profound thoughts and the materials in an artistic work.Third,it explores the visual aesthetic attributes of the material itself and the methods of using the material to convey the creator’s spiritual quest so as to integrate them in the artistic work.Finally,based on the findings from Kiefer’s works,together with the author’s own practice in such new contexts as painting,theatre,and performance art,the paper sheds light on the integral and balanced relationship between materials and spiritual quests.