Below is a glossary article post in the category F which discusses the explanation of the meaning, definition and meaning of the acronym, term, jargon, or termonology of Formlessness based on summaries from various types of sources (references) that are relevant, related, and trustworthy.
Understanding Formlessness
So, what is actually meant by Formlessness?
Formlessness is a concept, which was first introduced by French-French writers Georges Bataille, who argues that art must be brought ‘down in the world’ from the status that is elevated to its basic materialism-and that this degraded condition must be celebrated as a tool for creativity.
Explanation of Formlessness
Formlessness is the concept that was first introduced by Bataille in 1929, when he wrote about ‘L’Forme’ (without form) in the Surrealist Journal of the 1929-30 document. For Bataille, L’Forme is about destroying categories and dropping art from his metaphorical base so he sits in the gutter. He rejected high -thinking humanism which he said was high in an ideal idea, and celebrated the degraded.
The concept of helplessness is justified by the cultural theorists of Rosalind Krauss and Yves-Aterin Bois in 1996, when they used the Bataille idea of ’L’Forme’ in an exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Paris called Formless: User Guide. They argue that artists throughout the twentieth century, from abstract expressionists, to post-modern artists such as Mike Kelley and Cindy Sherman, have used helplessness as a tool of creativity, not to improve art, but to reduce it and dirty. They gave an example of Jackson Pollock, who dripped paint to the canvas placed on the floor. The paint will be mixed with ash falling from artist cigarettes and other detritus pieces, all of which will end in the last art.
Moreover, as we have seen above, this term is one of a collection of dictionaries, acronyms, terms, jargon, or terminology in the field of arts that begins with an alphabet or prefix F, as well as terms associated with F.
Meaning of Formlessness in the English, Indonesian (Including Javanese and Sundanese), and Malaysian Translation Dictionary
Apart from discussing the meaning and discussion of the definition, to deepen it further, here we also need to know what the word means in the English, Indonesian (including Javanese and Sundanese) translation dictionaries, as well as Malaysia (Malay).
For easy understanding, in this glossary post, we will explain it in the form of a list of translations of terms from various types of languages as follows:
- English; Terminology = Formlessness.
- Indonesian (including Javanese and Sundanese translations); Terminology = Tidak berbentuk (Indonesian), Formlessness (Java), and Ékspresi in Sundanese.
- Malaysian; Terminology = Formlessness.
Closing
OK, above there is the discussion and explanation of what is the meaning of Formlessness.
Hopefully this article post that we have shared can be useful and can broaden our insight and literacy, especially in Art.
See also ours other articles related to the field of Art on the main blog page of our website.
Footnotes
This glossary post was created by referring to the conclusions of the meaning of definitions from various authoritative relevant references such as Wikipedia, Britannica and several other sources such as MoMA, Tate, ModernArts, and so on. This word is one of a collection of terminology in the field of Art which begins with the alphabet or prefix F. This article wasupdated in Dec of 2025.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity
- https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=formlessness
- https://www.britannica.com/search?query=formlessness
- View example images of formlessness through Google here
- View example images of formlessness on Bing here
- View example images of formlessness on Yandex here
