MA Painting

Wenjie Chen

18033771

 

 

 

How do artists recognise and perceive the absurdity of the world?

 

Abstract 

Absurdism is a philosophical thought which advocates that there is a constant conflict between human desire to find meaning in life and the Universe's failure to provide any. This paper aims to deal with the philosophy of Absurdism that was introduced by Albert Camus. For this purpose, the paper has taken up the study of Albert Camus's Myth of Sisyphus. It looks at how Camus uses the metaphor of Sisyphus to explain the monotonous absurdity of life. The paper sheds light on Camus's theory of life is inherently meaningless and how this reality is often in conflict with human desire to seek the meaning of life.

Moreover, this paper also looks at the extension of the theory of Absurdism in drama by taking up the study of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. This paper examines how Beckett brought out the philosophy of Absurdism in drama through two main characters, namely Vladimir and Estragon. Additionally, this paper observes how artists have used the element of absurdity in their artworks. For this purpose, the paper looks at the artworks of three artists, namely, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet, and Yayoi Kusama. They have used the idea of absurdity through disintegrated human sculptures, sketchy and childlike drawings of human figures, and through means of dots and infinity. Finally, the paper concludes by looking at the relevance of absurd art in the present world. 
 

Keywords: Absurdism, Absurdist Art, Meaninglessness, Albert Camus, Drama 

 

 

Introduction

Albert Camus defined Absurd in Philosophy as a struggle between the human desire to find a deep meaning of life, and the incapacity of the human beings to seek any in an empty, worthless, or illogical, the chaotic world (Dotterweich, 2019). In other words, Absurdists do not necessarily believe that it is meaningless to invest time and energy in anything; however, they consider that human being cannot evade the absurdity of being alive. Moreover, Absurdism, as a thought process of Philosophy, discovers the primary character of the Absurd and how humans, after becoming aware of it, must retort to it.  Absurdity in Art means creating art that provides with a different version of life, and contrasts it with several realities of life so that people can look at life from a different point of view (Dabash, n.d.). Absurd as a form of philosophy first appeared in the literature of late-twentieth-century Europe, and soon it spread out to the other genres of fine arts like theatre and visual images. Absurdism profoundly impacted various creative fields, and soon its influence was felt internationally.  

The artists, while using the concept of absurdity in their art, treat the absurd description of the reality of "self" as more enlightening than the actual reality of self. Thus, absurdity in art means engaging the onlooker with different absurd versions of reality. The wave of Absurdism in fine arts encouraged the artists to centre their works on individual experiences, and thus, they began to create art that symbolised the futility of life through abstract themes. This paper aims to discuss in detail the way artists use the concept of Absurdism in their art-form. This paper will discuss the absurdity in literature and drama by studying Albert Camus's The Myth of the Sisyphus and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Following this, the paper will then take up the study of how artists have represented the concept of the absurdity of the world and human existence in their artwork. 

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Origins of Absurdism

Absurdism is somewhat similar to the concept of existentialism which was introduced by Danish Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in the nineteenth century. Kierkegaard propounded that a human being has to strive to give meaning to his life while remembering that there will be numerous hindrance in the path of achieving a meaningful life (McDonald, 2017). However, Absurdism, as a belief system, was developed in the late twentieth century. Thomas Nagel (Nagel, 1971 ) in his work states that people believed that the world was a harmonious and peaceful place to reside until the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, soon after, humanity saw the occurrence of World I, Rise of Hitler and World War II, and this changed its understanding of the world. World War II exposed the failure of religion in explaining the logic behind human existence, and thus, mankind felt betrayed and grew cynical towards religion (Dabash, n.d.). Many European thinkers began to think that the world was a strange place to be, and they felt the need to abandon their faith. Human being started questioning the morality of God and religion. Therefore, repercussions of World War II had turned people hopeless, and this hopelessness created a suitable ambience for the development of the theory of Absurdism. 
 

 It was in this context that an Algerian born Frenchman named Albert Camus introduced the idea of Absurdity to the world (Pölzler, 2018). The time Camus spent in France during the German occupation in World War II and the dreadfulness which he had to witness led him to theorise the idea of Absurdism (Dotterweich, 2019). Camus can be considered the representative of anxious post World War II Europe. Camus was a staunch critic of Marxism, and this viewpoint of his often involved him in a conflict with his friend Jean-Paul Sartre who was pro-communism (Aronson, 2011). Camus advocated that the Universe has no inherent meaning attached to it and our lives are pointless, and thus, we are leading towards the Absurd. Pölzler argues that according to Camus, the absurd represented a relation of tension; a conflict between a desire and a reality that does not fulfil this desire (Pölzler, 2019). That is to say, that Camus believed that it is absurd of Humans to find a meaning of life when, in reality, life is meaningless. After Camus gave the theory of Absurdism, there arose the genre of Absurdist Fiction in the 1950s and 1960s, which was the result of post-war disenchantment (Cornwell, 2006). Themes of Absurdist Fiction can be found in works of Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett, and so on. 
 

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Camus and The Myth of Sisyphus 

Albert Camus's argument of absurdity can be best understood with the help of the story of Sisyphus, where Sisyphus pushes the rock up the mountain only to see it falling over, again and again. Consequently, Camus also believes that like Sisyphus humans also keep asking the meaning of life only to witness the answer stumbling back (Davis, n.d.). Camus argued that just like Sisyphus no matter how much efforts humans put in, they can never accomplish anything significant and keep living through the ordinary routine  (Pölzler, 2019). In other words, Camus professed that it is futile to try and explore the meaning of everyday life when there is none. Thus, for Camus, human existence has no profound meaning to it, and human beings should realise the absurdity and emptiness of life and must learn to live with this realisation. Camus argued that once, a human is headed towards absurdity, there is no going back, and the only feasible option left for them is Suicide (Camus, 1955). However, Camus says that suicide doesn't solve the problem of suicide and therefore, Camus urges people to be rebellious about the absurd and mundane life (Camus, 1955). In other words, people should accept the absurdity of meaninglessness and ordinariness of life, just like Sisyphus did. Still, at the same time, they should rebel against the absurd to celebrate the dull life. 

 

Camus had a distinctive view of art. He believed that artists should bring the absurd throughout their art; their art should depict the monotony of the meaningless of life. Moreover, Camus also argued that artists should present the attitude of revolt, i.e., their art should convey that the absurd is unjust (Pölzler, 2019). Camus states that to create art, the artists should separate themselves from their piece of work (Camus, 1955). It can be said that Camus argued so because he believed that if an artist attaches himself/herself from their work, they will never be able to produce art that communicates the absurdity of life. According to Camus, art did not have any future, and the artist must accept this absurd idea, and then should proceed with creating (Camus, 1955). Camus has himself used the absurdity of life in his works. For instance, in The Stranger Camus has shown that the protagonist Meursault rebels only once he was sentenced to death. Moreover, Camus in this novel has also depicted that there is no place for emotions in life; as the protagonist does not cry over the death of his mother. Camus in The Stranger has reinforced the idea that life is absurd and meaningless. 

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Additionally, Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus has given specific examples that convey the readers about which kind of art does Camus think is worth creating (Wittmon, 2009, p. 106). Firstly, Camus takes the example of Rimbaud, who wrote poetry until the age of nineteen, and during the end days of his life, he tore down all his work (Camus, 1955). Camus is appreciative of this action of Rimbaud because it suggests that art is meaningless, and an artist must not attach any meaning to his art. On the other hand, Camus has criticised Franz Kafka's The Castle because Camus argued that Kafka failed to disconnect himself from his piece of art (LeBlanc, 1999). Moreover, Camus disapproved Kafka's explanation of the absurd which the latter does by making use of the metaphor of protagonist K.'s useless attempt to enter the castle.

Furthermore, when K. fails to enter the castle, he simply surrenders and does not revolt. Camus has also critiqued this action of Kafka's protagonist because as argued above, Camus believed in rebelling against the absurd rather than giving up and committing a philosophical suicide. Camus says that The Castle provides a remedy to the problem of absurd which shows that the protagonist was too weak to tackle the reality of absurdity of life. In other words, Camus stated that Kafka's The Castle could not accurately portray the thought of revolt, which has the potential to render value to a piece of art. 

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Theatre of the Absurd 

Theatre of the Absurd (Esslin, 1960) is a literary movement in the field of theatrical drama which rose to prominence in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s after Camus gave the Philosophy of the Absurd. In this movement, playwrights write plays that were absurdist and depicted, through the medium of drama, that life is inherently meaningless (Esslin, 1960). Esslin argues that the Theatre of the Absurd portrays an inexplicable space, whereby, the onlookers fail to understand the exact meaning behind the activities happening on the stage (Esslin, 1960). In other words, the Theatre of the Absurd brought Camus's argument of Absurdism and futility of life on stage. Further, Esslin (Esslin, 1960) argues that initially, the spectators fail to comprehend the happenings on the stage; nevertheless, in the later stage of the drama, the audience realises that the play has something to do with the absurdity of life. Thus, the audience is made to confront the meaningless and worthlessness of their existence through the genre of drama. Many playwrights wrote absurdist plays, for instance, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, and Eugene Ionesco. However, for the study, this paper will analyse how Samuel Beckett in his Waiting for Godot has made use of Camus's Philosophy of the Absurd to represent the futility of human existence. 

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Samuel Beckett, in his plays, tackled with the existentialist feeling which got dominant internationally in the post World War II period. It is believed that the monotonous childhood of Beckett had a profound impact on his work (Bolick, 2009). Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot between 1948 and 1949, and this play was first produced in 1953 in Paris. The protagonists of this play are Vladimir and Estragon who keep waiting for a saviour named Godot to arrive, not knowing whether the latter will ever arrive or not (Bolick, 2009). The setting of this play is abstract as well; there is no mention of specific date and time. The play just exists on the stage with no broader context whatsoever.

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Moreover, in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon seem to be trapped in the cycle of waiting for something to happen and coming to the realisation that it might never happen (Chesca, 2013). Just like Camus's metaphor of Sisyphus, Beckett to uses Vladimir and Estragon to represent the absurdity and worthlessness of life. In other words, the two characters are helpless as their passionate waiting does not make a difference, just like Camus argued that no matter how much efforts humans put in, they will never achieve anything meaningful. 

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"ESTRAGON: He should be here.

 VLADIMIR: He didn't say for sure he'd come. 

ESTRAGON: And if he doesn't come? 

VLADIMIR: We'll come back tomorrow. 

ESTRAGON: And then the day after tomorrow. 

VLADIMIR: Possibly. 

ESTRAGON: And so on. 

VLADIMIR: The point is— 

ESTRAGON: Until he comes."

The above lines borrowed from the play itself represent the meaninglessness in the actions of Vladimir and Estragon. There is a detectable sense of uncertainty regarding the arrival of Godot. This uncertainty is Beckett's way of conveying that life at large has no worth attached to it, and humans are powerless when it comes to making a change in the world. Beckett, through this play, is trying to address that life, per se, is absurd and human do not know what is going to happen next, and thus, they spend their lives engaging in worthless actions. The constant waiting for Godot only adds up to the suffering of the two characters instead of healing it (Bennett, 2015). Besides, Camus argued that there is a conflict between human desire and human reality. Similarly, Beckett also depicts that though Vladimir and Estragon want Godot to arrive, the reality is different and herein, lays the Absurdism of the play. 

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Absurdism in Art

The philosophy of Absurdism inspired many artists to paint and create in a way which represents the absurdity and meaninglessness of life. Absurdism was recognised globally, and it was regarded as a theory which expressed the general trepidation which mankind felt in the post World War II period.  Absurdist artists worked on themes like existentialism, untrustworthy memory, the worthlessness of time, identity loss, and feeling of being trapped (Wein, 2018). At the centre of the entire absurdist art lays the idea of the assertion of human existence in a disordered and disparaging world. Absurdist art challenges people to look at life differently; it doesn't confine to the established norms (Wexler, 2017) . The absurd art may look ordinary to some of its spectators; however, for those who truly understand the philosophy behind it, the art seems extraordinary. Artists make use of their life challenges or literary philosophy to create art that is absurd and depicts the meaninglessness of life in the most artistic way possible. There evolved many art movements that derived their inspiration from the philosophy of absurd. For instance: Informalism, Surrealism, Pop Art, and so on.  For the study, this paper will look at the artworks of Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet, and Yayoi Kusama.

Alberto Giacometti

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Figure 1:  Walking Man I, Alberto Giacometti, 1960 (Giacometti, 1960)

 

Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss-born sculptor and painter who got famous for his distinct and stunning way of sculpting human bodies. Giacometti left Surrealist Art and came back to the figurative arts after 1935 (Finburgh, 2002). Giacometti's works, unlike Michelangelo's, doesn't capture the beautiful contours of the human body (Sollars, 2013). In Giacometti's Walking Man, there is a human figure that does not look like a real human being. The sculpture is elongated and tall. The sculpted man looks tired, starved, sad, and lifeless. He seems to be carrying a kind of emptiness inside him, a void that cannot be filled.  He looks like a man who is physically walking with the crowd but is mentally thinking about how human existence is irrational and absurd. The sculpture makes its onlookers wonder about the melancholy that this man embodies. He reminds his spectators of those humans who often question the purpose of their existence and get cynical when they find out that there is no deep meaning of life. Giacometti cast this sculpture in the post World War II period, and thus, this sculpture may be trying to communicate to its spectators the trauma of the war which mankind had to carry with itself. When one looks at this sculpture, the ordeal of war is visible. Giacometti accurately depicts the feeling of futile existence that clouded the minds of people in the post war period. 
 

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Figure 2:  Women of Venice II, Alberto Giacometti, 1956 (Giacometti, 1956)

       

Giacometti's other figurative works like Women of Venice II depict human body utterly different from the reality and herein lays the absurdity of his art. He presents an idea that is in contrast with the reality to provide the viewers with an alternative version of what is real. Giacometti's has created a human figure that may feel foreign to the spectators yet may compel them to think about a parallel world where this human is real. Moreover, Camus argued that absurd is the conflict between what is desired and a reality that does not meet this desire, and this is what is visible in the artwork of Giacometti. He presents the dark reality of the post-war period and not the desired beautifully contoured figure of a human being. Giacometti's Walking Man presents a feeling of failure, guilt, and exhaustion that were felt by most of the human beings in the post-war period. Giacometti's figures exposed the "precariousness and absurdity of life" (Tate, 2017) in the anxiety-ridden post-war Europe. Giacometti's Walking Man truthfully represents the theory of Absurdism by portraying the conflict between the human desire to find a meaning of life and their incapacity to do so. Giacometti's Walking Man also contains an "attitude of revolt" which is a term given by Camus. This element of revolt can be deciphered from the man's act of walking, whereby he keeps on moving forward after understanding and accepting the meaningless of human existence in the post-war period. 
 

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Jean Dubuffet

Jean Dubuffet was a French painter and Sculptor who got famous in the United States of America in the late 1940s. He started his career as an artist in Paris but later moved to America. He is considered to have introduced an art movement called Art Brut, which means art that is raw and unrefined. Dubuffet believed in creating more realistic artworks. It is said that Dubuffet's work was a way of revolting against the ideas of beauty and high culture (MoMA, 2020). Dubuffet considered the world as an irrational place, and this reflected in his paintings where he did not confine himself to established norms. That is why; Dubuffet's art can be regarded as absurdist. Dubuffet was more concerned with real human experiences instead and created art that was juxtaposed to the established reality of the world. Moreover, Dubuffet was inspired by mentally ill patients and children to create art that does not conform to the academic standards of art (Russell, 1985 ). 

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Figure 3: Monsieur Plume with Creases in his Trousers, Jean Dubuffet, 1947 (Dubuffet, 1947)

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In Dubuffet's works titled Monsieur Plume Botanical Specimen and Monsieur Plume with Creases in his Trousers, depict absurd figures of a man who happens to be a writer and artist Henri Michaux (Cole, 2016 ). The plume was an absurdist character, like Camus's Meursault, who is inundated by the realisation of the futility of life (Russell, 1985 ). Plume is painted like a sketchy figure who seems like a human but has no human-like features. Thus, here is a similarity that can be witnessed between Alberto Giacometti's sculpture of a man and Dubuffet's painting of a man. They both look like humans but do not have the physical characteristics of a human. Moreover, Dubuffet beautifully brings out the absurdity of the character through his paintings. While looking at the painting, it seems that the man is frustrated after failing to figure out his chaotic and absurd surroundings just as Camus argued that seeking meaning leads humans to disillusionment and disappointment. 
 

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Figure 4: Jöe Bousquet in Bed, Jean Dubuffet, 1947 (Dubuffet, 1947)

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In another work of Dubuffet titled Jöe Bousquet in Bed (1947) is a painting of poet Jöe Bousquet who got hurt in World War I and was bed-ridden since then. Dubuffet showed a man's suffering because of a restricted life (Green, 2014 ). The figure, once again, is a sketchy one with no details of the physical characteristics of humans. The painting presents a man who is isolated from the world and has a monotonous life. His expression informs the spectator about his disappointment which stems from the worthlessness of his life. However, at the same time, Dubuffet has drawn what seems to be either journal or diary. This powerful depiction tells the onlookers that Bousquet has accepted the futility of his life and has decided to revolt against it by maintaining a diary of his personal experiences. In other words, Dubuffet's drawing of a journal in the painting can be seen as an element of revolt that Camus argued every art that depicts the absurdity of life must have. 
 

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Yayoi Kusama 

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who creates sculptures, installations, paintings, films, and so on. She was born in Japan, but her desire to be an artist pulled her to New York in 1958 when she gained popularity amid an art world dominated by men (Yamamura, 2009 ). Kusama had witnessed post-war Japan, and her childhood was also traumatic, and this is what can be seen in Kusama's art. In many of her interviews, Kusama has mentioned that she hallucinated throughout her life and carried her hallucinations to her art in the form of polka dots or infinity nets (Yamamura, 2009 ). Her mental illness deeply inspires Kusama's work, and there is extensive repetition in her artwork. Kusama's art can be hard to comprehend, and that is so because Kusama does not try to explain her art, she simply describes her experience through her art. Camus argued that an artist should not explain the absurdity of life through their art, and this is precisely what Kusama does. She accepted the absurd in life, the repetition she hallucinated about and then painted it on a canvas without any explanation. 

 

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Figure 5: Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, Yayoi Kusama, 2009 (Kusama, 2009)

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Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms are one such example of Kusama's repetitive art.  They are a three-dimensional room like structure with mirrors all around that give viewers entry into the world of infinity. There are several ways to look at these Infinity Mirror Rooms and one among them is, to see them as a metaphor for how life too can get repetitive and monotonous. Understanding and accepting the repetition is what Camus argued about through his metaphor of Sisyphus. Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms convey to the spectators the insignificance of humans in a vast chaotic infinite Universe. It communicates to its onlookers the absurdity in life; that humans are just one tiny part of a never-ending universe. Her repetitive drawings of Polka Dots or Infinity Nets can also be seen as her acceptance of the absurd in life, of the monotony of life. Kusama's polka dots tell the viewers that their existence is just like a 'dot' in the infinite world; it presents the idea of human loneliness in a big Universe to the viewers. Kusama seems too revolting against the void, existentialism, and meaningless that her childhood created through the help of art (Boxer, 2017). Kusama's artwork compels the onlookers to wonder about oblivion, to think about a reality that exists beyond their idea of existence. 

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Figure 6: Brilliance of the Souls, Yayoi Kusama, 2014 (Kusama, 2014)

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 Kusama's art has become more popular in the current period because of social media platforms like Instagram. Kusama's art because of all its colours and aesthetics seems to be attracting the modern-day youth. Kusama's artworks provide people with the opportunity to capture the lonely existential, meaningless portrayal of life. While people click the picture of Kusama art of infinity, it assures them that they might feel insignificant in this infinite Universe. Still, others feel the same.

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Conclusion

This paper aimed to discuss the theory of Absurdism given by Albert Camus in his work titled The Myth of Sisyphus and study its extension in drama and art. Camus advocated that life as such is meaningless, and humans should not try to find meaning in it.  Camus, through the story of Sisyphus, has advocated that just like Sisyphus's existence, human existence is futile and monotonous. However, at the same time, Sisyphus has accepted the absurdity of his existence and instead of surrendering itself to it; he keeps living a meaningless life. Therefore, Camus believed that humans need to accept the meaninglessness of life and live life in whatever way they want to. This Absurdism has then been adopted in the realm of theatrics whereby playwright Samuel Beckett has brought out the futility of existence in his play Waiting for Godot. The play depicts the worthlessness of waiting for something that may never happen. Through, the useless waiting Beckett tries to address the question of the absurdity of human life. 

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To study the Absurdity in art, this paper has taken up works of Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet, and Yayoi Kusama. The artworks of these artists show absurdity through the portrayal of an exhausted man in the post-world war II period, preliminary figures of an absurd character and sketchy figure of a sick man, and through dots and idea of infinity. These artists capture the void and absurdity of life in the most captivating way possible. Their art shows the conflict between the desired reality and actual reality, which is one of the arguments of Camus. Artworks of these artists also hold elements of revolt which, according to Camus, is a necessary characteristic of a work of art. Camus's philosophy of Absurd and its presence in art is essential even in the present world. The absurdity and dystopia that is clouding the human world today are no less horrifying than the one that took birth in the post-world war period. With the rise of capitalism, majoritarianism, authoritarianism, mental health disorders among humans, environmental crisis, humans have started questioning the meaning of existence all over again. In this context, an art that captures the meaninglessness and dark, absurd reality of life is crucial. Absurd art provides an entrance into an alternate version of reality and enables human beings to think about a reality beyond their existence. The disintegrated sketches of the human body that are a common feature of absurdist art are a compelling presentation of exhausted and frenzied human beings living in the present world. 

 

 

 

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