Roger Fry’s Formalism Aesthetic Education Research

Under the circumstance that the classical tradition of advocating reappearance and narrative impaired the development of plastic arts and the purity of aesthetics,Roger Fry started from his artistic view with "emotion-form" as its core and his practical artistic view which integrated practicality and "emotion-form",and opened up a formalistic aesthetic education path based on the "Omega" workshops.The basic goal of Fry,s formalist aesthetic education was to try to improve the audience’s aesthetic ability and make them become the owners of "aesthetic vision,".To achieve this goal,Fry took the beauty of "significant and expressive form" of practical art as the medium and means of aesthetic education,and required artists employed in the"Omega" workshops to work as "happy decorators".The practical works of art made by them were full of expressive and abstract formal beauty.At the same time,Fry adopted a top-down aesthetic education method,limiting the types of products to common daily objects such as textiles,ceramics,sculptures and furniture,and limiting the audience of products to the middle and upper class of British society,with a view to transforming the aesthetic interest of the whole society through top-down daily aesthetic influence.Therefore,Fry’s formalist aesthetic education presented a special nature that combined purity and intervention.The artistic function theory of formalism and the uniqueness of formal beauty made Fry’s aesthetic education aim at constructing a self-sufficient "imaginary life",which depended on and exerted influence on real life to a great extent.This paper is divided into four chapters.The introduction first introduces the basis of the topic selection,the research goal,the research status of Fry’s aesthetic theory and his aesthetic education practice,and the problems to be solved in the research field of Fry.The first chapter focuses on the context of Fry’s formalism aesthetic education.Starting from the theoretical origin and social environment,it investigates why Fry’s aesthetic education activities took place and under what background.The second chapter analyzes Fry’s aesthetic education activities centered on the "Omega" workshops,and expounds his aesthetic education goals,media and methods one by one.In this process,the article pays special attention to exploring the relationship between Fry’s aesthetic education thought and practice,and his formalistic and practical artistic views.The third chapter further clarifies the special attributes of Fry’s formalism aesthetic education,which are both pure and interventional.And objectively evaluates the gains and losses and significance of Fry’s aesthetic education on the premise of fully grasping his theory and practice.This paper not only reviews and evaluates its important position in the history of art and art criticism,but also points out its close relationship with the "life aesthetics" and aesthetic education of life.