蒙德里安的多元主義與二十世紀初的巴黎都會 = Piet Mondrian’s Pluralism and Early Twentieth-Century Paris

Mondrian’s body of work has been considered the classical icon of abstract art. His compositions often feature intersecting vertical and horizontal lines, or lozenge pictures with triangles on the borders, some of which are rendered with primary colors. Such styles are seen mostly in the works he did in Paris from 1919 to 1938. Biographical documents affirm that Paris was one of his favorite artistic environments, and he strove to fit into Parisian life in his effort to fuse of art and life. However, the way he integrated Parisian urban culture in his work has not been well investigated to date. This essay argues that Mondrian drew various plastic elements from contemporary art and life of Paris, particularly during the years 1912-1930, and formulated his pluralist composition. Through analyzing his paintings and writings, this essay explores how he combines urban culture and abstract form. Firstly, Mondrian transferred the heterogeneity of Cubist collage into his paintings and studio wall works. Secondly, he adopted plastic elements from the street, including posters, walls, windows and store fronts, and thereby integrated materiality in abstract painting. Thirdly, Mondrian emulated avant-garde literature, Futurist free word in particular, and transferred some of its ideas to his Tableau-po?me. In contrast to the formalist theory of purism, this essay finds Mondrian to be a pluralist in his synthesis of urban art and life.