Max Ryynänen's Polemic Against the Central European Art System
In his 2021 publication, "On the Philosophy of Central European Art," Max Ryynänen critiques the contemporary art landscape of Central Europe, tracing its influences to an 18th-century foundation. Teaching at Aalto University, he posits that the region's artistic identity is shaped by a triangle linking Florence, Paris or London, and Berlin or Vienna. Ryynänen introduces the term "nobrow" to challenge traditional classifications of art. In a review, Tyrus Miller questions Ryynänen’s dependence on historical texts, particularly Paul Oskar Kristeller’s 1951 study and James I. Porter’s 2009 critique, emphasizing that art should not be constrained to a singular aesthetic perspective.
Key facts
- Max Ryynänen published 'On the Philosophy of Central European Art' in 2021.
- The book is a polemic against the Central European art institution.
- Ryynänen is a professor at Aalto University in Helsinki.
- He edits journals Popular Inquiry and Journal of Somaesthetics.
- Ryynänen defines Central Europe as a triangle: Florence, Paris/London, Berlin/Vienna.
- The book advocates for 'nobrow' over highbrow, middlebrow, lowbrow.
- Tyrus Miller's review appears on ARTMargins Online.
- Miller references James I. Porter's 2009 critique of Kristeller.
- Miller cites John Frow, Simon Frith, and Jim McGuigan on cultural hierarchies.
- The review questions Ryynänen's dismissal of modern and avant-garde art developments.
Entities
Artists
- Max Ryynänen
- Tyrus Miller
- Paul Oskar Kristeller
- Władysław Tatarkiewicz
- Larry Shiner
- Peter Bürger
- Christa Bürger
- Richard Shusterman
- John Dewey
- James I. Porter
- Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann
- John Frow
- Simon Frith
- Jim McGuigan
- Pierre Bourdieu
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
- Lexington Books
- Aalto University
- University of Warsaw
- Polish Academy of Sciences
- University of Chicago Press
- Princeton University Press
- University of Nebraska Press
- Blackwell
- Cambridge University Press
- Oxford University Press
- Harvard University Press
- Routledge
Locations
- Helsinki
- Finland
- Florence
- Italy
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Berlin
- Germany
- Vienna
- Austria
- Munich
- Scandinavia
- Southern Italy
- Central Slovakia
- Slovakia
- Europe
- Central Europe