Modernist art rejects representation in art often contemptuously, calling it “non-art” or “kitsch.” Why?
Partly it’s the influence of philosopher Immanuel Kant. In his famous Critique of Judgment, in which he calls “sublime” the Hebrew Scripture passage “Thou shalt make no graven images.”
I discuss Kant’s general philosophy, his philosophy of art, and his influence on the developments in modernist art in this interview conducted by Jan-Ove Tuv in Norway.
Related: Kant’s foundational Critique of Pure Reason, in the Philosophers, Explained series.