http://artpulsemagazine.com/the-paradox-of-expressionism

By John Valentine

For the purposes of this essay, I shall define expressionism-à la the Romantic movement of the 19^th century-as the theory that one of the main functions of artworks, if not their very essence, is that they somehow ‘contain,’ ‘suggest,’ or ‘give voice to’ human feelings. I shall not be concerned with the theory…

http://artpulsemagazine.com/figurative-drawing-e-h-gombrich-and-stephen-wiltshire-%e2%80%9cthe-human-camera%e2%80%9d

By John Valentine

It is not my intent in this short essay to conduct an in-depth critique of E.H. Gombrich’s masterful work in the psychology of perception and its relation to figurative drawing. His book Art and…

By John Valentine

http://artpulsemagazine.com/the-beauty-of-wabi-sabi

Wabi-Sabi is a classic and well-known style of Japanese craftsmanship dating back at least as far as the 14^th century. Unfortunately, its definition has become a cliché in the art world and its deeper philosophical dimensions are often overlooked or under-appreciated. The standard explanation is…

http://artpulsemagazine.com/between-scylla-and-charybdis-art-vs-craft

By John Valentine

The following article presents a debate about the distinction, if any, between art and craft. I have chosen the lead-in reference to the twin monsters that threatened Odysseus in Homer’s classic work The Odyssey, even though the philosophical debate about art and craft contains nothing threatening…