Людина у філософії художнього класичного авангарду постає в різних, часто па-
радоксальним чином суперечливих іпостасях. Еклектичне уявлення художників — теоретиків
авангарду про суть і призначення людини являє собою всеосяжний гуманістичний образ. Унаслідок
суперечності напрямів і ідей, що висуваються представниками авангарду, поняття «людина» в
їх філософських поглядах складає, з одного боку, образ романтичний, рухомий ідеалістичними, ба-
гато в чому утопічними ідеями, а з іншого — деструктивний, що прагне зруйнувати всі нашару-
вання культури, повертаючись до першоджерел, дикості й варварства, «чистоти» свідомості.
Парадоксальність, суперечність, прагнення до принципово демонстративної оригінальності й
новаторства, провокаційності, характерні для всього мислення авангардистів, найяскравіше ви-
разились у визначенні саме категорії людини та розуміння гуманізму, оскільки саме це включає
значну кількість філософських аспектів пробле- матики. Принципові відмінності в баченні людини
відбуваються і внаслідок прагнення кожного автора до абсолютного новаторства і нескінченного
втілення «свого» мистецтва або «свого» погляду на розвиток культури та мистецтва і самоствер-
дження в цій новій сучасній культурі.
Человек в философии художественного классического авангарда предстает в раз-
личных, часто парадоксальным образом противоречивых ипостасях. Эклектичное представление
художников — теоретиков авангарда о сущности и назначении человека представляет собой все-
объемлющий гуманистический образ. Вследствие противоречия направлений, идей, выдвигаемых
представителями авангарда, понятие «человек» в их философских взглядах представляет, с одной
стороны, образ романтичный, движимый идеалистическими, во многом утопическими идеями,
а с другой — деструктивный, стремящийся разрушить все наслоения культуры, возвращаясь к
первоисточникам, дикости, варварству и «чистоте» сознания. Парадоксальность, противоречие,
стремление к принципиально демонстративной оригинальности, новаторству, провокационности,
характерные для всего мышления авангардистов, ярко выразились в определении именно категории
человека и понимании гуманизма. Принципиальные различия в видении человека происходят и вследствие стремления каждого автора к абсолютному новаторству и бесконечному воплощению «своего» искусства или «своего» взгляда на развитие куль- туры и искусства, а также самоутверждения в этой новой современной им культуре.
этой новой современной им культуре.
Concept of the
“Man” is a fundamental concept of the Avant-garde
art philosophy. The classical philosophy of the Avantgarde
art presents the Man in various and sometimes
paradoxically controversial roles. In fact, the eclectic
idea of the artist-theorists about the essence and
purpose of the Man is a comprehensive picture of the
meaning of this concept in terms of expression, artistry,
and the influence on the contemporary ideas in
the social philosophy and aesthetics of the XX century.
Because of the contradiction between the directions
and ideas promoted by the representatives of the Avantguard
art, the philosophic concept of the “Man” in a
paradox manner creates, on the one hand, the romantic
image driven by the idealistic and mainly utopian
ideas, but on the other hand – the destructive one who
is seeking to destroy all layers of the culture, while taking
a return way to the primary origins, savagery and
barbarity, so called, “purity” of the consciousness. The
fundamental differences in the vision of the “Man” are
also caused by the ambition of each author for absolute
innovation and endless embodiment of “his” own art or
“his” own view on the development of culture and art,
and self-affirmation in this new culture. The “Man” in
the avant-gardists’ theories is a collective image, a central
meaning-making definition of the philosophy of the
Avant-garde art. The integrity of developments and intentions
of the concept of the “Man” launched a vector
of destruction of a personal, individual principle. Such
an idea, popular in some modern philosophic streams,
is mainly determined by a vision of the “Man” in avantgarde
theory.
Paradoxicality, eclecticism, contradiction, thirst for
fundamentally demonstrative originality and innovation,
provocation, characteristic of all avant-garde
thinking were the most pronounced in defining the
category of Man, and understanding of humanism, because
it includes a significant number of philosophical
aspects. Man the Mad (savage, barbarian, animal) and
Man the Rational (absolute, perfect); Man the God and
Man the Nothing, Man the Prophet and Messiah; Man
of renewed free artistic consciousness and conserva tive – these are the most vivid, characteristic and contradictory
ideas about the essence of man, personality,
individuality considered by the philosophy of Avant-
Garde Art.
On the other hand, the image of the creative Avant-
Garde philosopher of the early XX century is also interesting.
The philosopher is paradoxical and uncertain,
helpless and pathetic in his struggle to explain
everything, and at the same time he realizes the impossibility
of discovering the meaning and purpose of his
existence and essence, and Man the Artist, who is the
absolute, the superman. These two essences form the
image of representatives of Avant-Garde Art.
Fundamental differences in the perception of the Man
occur due to the desire of each author to absolute innovation
and endless embodiment of “their” art or
“their” view of the development of culture and, art
and self-affirmation in this new modern culture. Man
in the theorizing of Avant-Garde is a collective image,
the central meaning-making definition of avant-garde
philosophy.
The aim of the presented article is to explore the problem
of humanism and the idea of the “Man” in philosophical
interpretations of the Avant-garde Art. It is
important to study the problem of determining the essence
(significance) and purpose of the Man in the early
XX century – in the course of the difficult and contradictory
stage of the emergence of the conceptual thinking.
There are several interesting and unresolved aspects
specified with regards to this problem, and, without any
doubt, the dominant issues are the freedom in terms of
gender self-identification (the free choice of self-identity
or the adherence to the gender stereotypes), the relationship
between the spiritual and bodily principles
in the Man, as well as the internal and external ones.
Despite the signs of the material and spiritual essence
of the Man, the artists who at the same time were the
specialists in the theory, taking into account the mentioned
above components, classified (determined) the
people by the prevalence of one of the foundations: either
material or spiritual.
The desire for innovation expressed by a person, for the
infinite transformation of the visual and existing, as one
of the most important aspects of the creativity, is the
basis of the personal freedom and self-affirmation in
the innovation, philosophical understanding of the paradox
of the modern world and human consciousness.
As the history might demonstrate, the paradoxicality,
eclecticism, contradiction, the desire for fundamentally
demonstrative originality and innovation, provocation,
that were characteristics to entire avant-garde thinking,
became the most pronounced in the process of determining
of category of the Man, and understanding of
the humanism, because it includes a significant number
of philosophical aspects. Man the Mad (savage, barbarian,
animal) and Man the Rational (absolute, perfect);
Man – the God and Man – the Nothing, Man the
Prophet and Man the Messiah; Man of renewed free
liberal artistic consciousness and conservative – these
are the most vivid, typical and contradictory ideas
about the essence of the Man, personality, individuality
considered by the philosophy of the Avant-garde Art.
On the other hand, the very image of a creative person
– an avant-garde artist of the early XX century – is
also interesting. The philosopher is paradoxical and
uncertain, helpless and miserable in his desire to be able to explain everything, and at the same time he
is able to realize that it is impossible to discover the
meaning and purpose of his own existence and essence,
and the Man-Artist, who is the absolute, the superman.
These two essences make up the image of representatives
of the Avant-garde Art.
The fundamental differences in the Man’s vision are
possible due to the each author’s desire to absolute
innovation and the endless embodiment of “their” art
or “their” view oo the development of the culture and
art, as well as the self-affirmation in this new modern
culture. Man in the theorizing of the avant-garde artists
is a collective image, the central meaning-making
definition of the Avant-garde Philosophy.
The concept of the “Man” – one of the fundamental
philosophical categories, which finds in the theory of
the Avant-garde artists a diverse and complex interpretation.
Traditionally, in European philosophy, the classical
concepts of understanding, defining and purpose
of the Man are generally accepted. Until the XX century,
models of worldview of the Man have always been
structured, i.e. had a center, an axis of the meaning and
a rationally organised system of properties and objects.
The Man in the Ancient times is a harmony, a certain
ideal, “the measure of all things.” The Man in the Middle
Ages is a creation of God, the meaning and path of
which is to focus on God. The Man in the Renaissance
is the creator of his own destiny, a demiurge in science,
creativity, that is, an active, universal person. The Man
in the New Age is the rational, full of faith in the great
power of science and the infinity of human knowledge.
Values in the form of binary oppositions were grouped
around the center: heaven and hell, reason and ignorance,
good and evil, beautiful and disgusting, without
which the picture of the world, it would seem, could not
exist. The primacy (homo sapiens, homo faber, homo
volus, homo ludens, or something else) determined the
Man’s place in the picture of the world. At the beginning
of the XX century it became clear that anyone and
anything is able to guarantee this place, and there can
be no clear classification and definition of the Man.
With the power of the significant information experience
of the past, impossibility of its absolute understanding
and some disappointment in rationality, there
occurs a fragmentation of the general, of the unified
style of thinking in the private, individualized philosophizings
concerning the awareness and understanding
of the purpose and nature of the Man, as well as many
other categories and philosophical issues.
All of that, to some extent, may explain a phenomenon
of the concept of “individualized conceptuality” in the
art, philosophy, science (and its special flourishing in
the middle of the XX century). Thus, it is surprisingly
important to study the problem of determining the essence
(meaning) and purpose of the Man in the early
XX century – at a difficult stage of the emergence of
conceptual thinking.
The problem of the Man (the personality) as a special
space capable of creating, discovering or destroying
new and new truths, as well as a view of a set of philosophical
problems about the human person, provided
by the philosophy of avant-garde art, are relevant in
today’s world. The person in modern philosophy and
art dissolves, giving way to the “Pseudo” Person.
The mass culture, globalization, the imposition of stereotypes,
norms, value systems level, “pushes to the background” the personality, turning it into something
secondary, and socialized, a “cultural” copy of the
original. These problems were considered in the philosophy
of the XX century, which has already become
a classical, but a role of the art has always been undervalued
or ignored. However, in spite of the parallel
search in the art and philosophy, it must be acknowledged
that the art has largely managed to look into the
future and predict the today’s situation.
