Development of Open Form Theory and Art Education that Originating in Postwar Poland

Abstract

A theory called “open form,” which was proposed by Oskar Hansen in the field of architecture, was developed into art education as an exercise in exploring “dynamic background” or “non-institutional space” among teachers and students at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts under the communist regime of Poland after World War II. This study examines the characteristics of theory and practice and their relationship with the background of development based on related materials. First, the contrast between “quantity” and “quality” and the logic of “the permeation of objective and subjective elements” are found on the basis of the description of a manifesto. Next, art trends in postwar and Hansen’s involvement in architecture and art are compared. The background of the application of “open form” in experimental works at the art academy was the political situation, as well as the educational aspects or the matter of scalability in “open form.” Another issue is that the trend of young artists in the field who endeavor to confront reality and the effect of using new techniques in works of art is also related.