Roh, Flores, Leal (RC)

ROH

In Roh’s essay he focuses on the evolution of art. He mainly focuses on Post –expressionism and how impressionism and expressionism have lead to this movement. Through the lens of magical realism he describes and compares their characteristics of different paintings in these movements. Objectivity is also very important in describing and being able to distinguish between the different phases of art. He argues that while in some movements like expressionism the art were more focused around simpler things such as shape and color post expressionism had a more complex way of depicting art by using taste, smells, and texture. Overall Roh’s focus on post-expressionism leads him to the conclusion that these forms of art that include magic and realism are the greatest forms of art.

LEAL

Luis Leal’s essay in response to Flores is a criticism of his ideas dealing with the origins of magical realism. Flores defines magical realism by stating that “…its practitioners ‘cling to reality as if to prevent literature from getting in their way, as if to prevent their myth from flying off, as in fairy tales, to supernatural realms. Leal does not agree with this definition because he believes that Flores includes authors who do not belong in the movement. Leal also strongly believes that magical realism is not identified with fantastic literature or psychological literature because it is not about distorting reality or creating imagined worlds.

FLORES

In Flores essay he discusses how historically Spanish American literature has been studied through the lens of thematic and biographical approaches. Flores believes that magical realism has a Hispanic birthplace and that is has become a way of people to see the world beyond what is, and although highly criticized that it has resulted in helping Latin America posses authenticity in its expression.

AWR- Roh, Flores, and Leal

Roh
In Franz Roh's essay, Roh discusses how art has evolved over time and what makes each style of art so unique. At first, Roh goes into great detail about Impressionist and Expressionist art. Although he later touches upon other art movements such as the Renaissance, Realism, and so on, the author focuses on Post-Expressionism. This Post-Expressionist style of art is known as magic realism, a phrase originated by Franz Roh in order to characterize a style of painting similar to Realism that came after the Expressionist era.
Most of Roh's essay has to do with the various aspects of Post-Expressionist art and why they are so unique compared to other styles of art. One of Roh's key points is the idea of objectivity. He argues that although Impressionism, Expressionism and Realism may be able to more accurately capture the image of an object, that they don't capture the emotion like Post-Expressionism. Post-Expressionism attempts to stimulate the senses of the audience that lookds at a painting, as opposed to just seeing the object that is before them. Another idea that Roh talks about is the idea of space in art. The author states how Post-Expressionism is known for a bird's-eye view, whereas other styles of art try to portray depth and distance. Lastly, Roh concludes his essay by talking about the concept of miniature. He says how a miniature painting is one that captures all of the microscopic details of something, and that was a signature technique of Post-Expressionism.
Through these various techniques and aspects of Post-Expressionist art, Roh talks about how painters are able to display their emotions in what they paint. Post-Expressionist art doesn't necessarily focus on what you see before your eyes, but it focuses more on how you perceive something and what it makes you feel when looking at it.

Flores
In this article, Angel Flores talks about the criticism that magical realism has received when it comes to literature. At first, he quoted Dudley Fitts who said he was depressed by the "ineptitude, uncertainty, imitativeness, and sentimental histrionics" of Spanish and Latin American fiction (Flores 111). The argument of Flores is that magical realism is a type of literature that may be fictional, however, the plot is usually based off of something that's realistic. But regardless, the author makes it clear that magical realistic literature is having difficulty catching on in the Spanish American society.

Leal
Luis Leal's essay is basically a contradiction of the main ideas that Angel Flores discusses in his essay. Leal and Flores disagree with each other as to when magical realism started to come about. Flores talks about how magical realism incorporates fictitious things in a realistic plot. Leal's definition of magical realism is similar to that of Franz Roh. Leal's main argument is that the magical realist doesn't try to copy the surrounding reality as it appears, but instead to portray the mystery that lays behind things. He reiterates the idea of Franz Roh that magic realism is meant to depict the emotions and senses that an object gives off.
The author tries to make it clear in his essay that magical realism doesn't emphasize supernatural elements, nor does it distort reality or create imaginary worlds. The goal of magic realism is to express emotions by attempting to discover the mysteries behind reality that not everybody else is able to see. It can be a very ambiguous type of literacy because the author is not requried to justify the mystery that he or she may create. Those who read magical realistic literature are forced to come up with their own justification for the author's ideas.

Roh, Flores, Leal

Franz Roh’s writings serve as both an informative and comparative piece on post expressionist art and the concept of magical realism. This new direction of painting is done in a more abstract way that seems to provide a deeper meaning to the images painted on the canvas than just their face value. The term magic realism itself is used to describe this ornate style of painting as it “hides and palpitates the represented world.” In this text, Roh evaluates the differences between the different expressions of art such as music, architecture, and paintings, and also evaluates the differences in the painting styles used. He indicates the key attributes that distinguish this new form of painting from other forms like cubism, expressionism, and realism. “Post-expressionism sought to reintegrate reality into the heart of visibility.” This new form of art “becomes once again the mirror of palpable exteriority.” Feelings and emotions are more easily influenced by this post-expressionist form of painting in a way that makes viewer feel both scintillated and aware of the objective world. This new form of art makes the viewer of the paintings appreciate the art in its finest fashion rather than “take it for granted.”


Flores takes a look at the progression and history of Latin American artistic expression throughout history and identifies magical realism as Latin America's bread and butter. Flores indicates that the magical realist movement as occurring during the 1930's and being led by writers such as Kafka. He describes this movement as being a culmination of both fantasy and realism in a manner that effectively illustrates the world we live in. The expression is viewed as strange, but real and detailed at the same time by Flores. Flores argues that this movement intensified and reached its pinnacle of achievement between 1940 and 1950. In reference to the magnitude of this movement, Flores states "we may claim, without apologies, that Latin America is no longer in search of its expression, to use Henriquez Urena's phrase- we may claim that Latin America now possesses an authentic expression, one that is uniquely civilized, exciting, and let us hope, perennial." Flores's writing evaluates both the details and effects of the magical realist movement.



Leal's writings seem to support that of Flores in the sense that it supports magical realism as being both a distinguished and effective means of art that is innately Latin American. However, Leal does not agree that the movement was started in 1935 or with Flores's definition of magical realism. He defines magical realism as "an attitude toward reality that can be expressed in popular or cultured forms, in elaborate or rustic styles, in closed or open structures." This list of apparent contradictions illustrates the unique nature of this artistic expression. Magical realists are not seeking to create a new world, but rather explain and untangle the realities we find most perplexing. Leal identifies theme in works of magical realism as a cornerstone to this movement. Leal masterfully describes magical realists as not attempting "to copy the surrounding reality or to wound it, but seize the mystery that breathes behind things." Leal's writing serves as a condemnation to several of Flores's arguments, a well written and supported description of his definition of magical realism, and an insightful look into this, at times, confusing movement.

SKK - Roh, Flores, Leal

Roh

Roh created the term Magic Realism to portray the new painting’s return to Realism after Expressionism’s more realistic and figural representation. According to him, the “convulsive life” and “fiery exaltation” of Expressionism have given way to the representation of vigorous life in a “civil, metallic, restrained” manner. He describes the ways in which the Post-Expressionist painting of the 1920s returns to a renewed pleasure in real objects even as it integrates the formal innovations and spiritual thrust of Expressionism.

Flores

In his essay, Flores came to the result that in Latin America, Romanticism and Realism seem bound together in one afflatus. Evidently, the roots of this conflict of ideas or attitudes are psychological, and lead all the way back to the great Spanish tradition, to writers and painters of the past. Then again, much of it can be ascribed to the unstable economic and social milieu of the writers of Spain and Latin America, which forces them to improvisation.

Leal

Leal criticizes Flores’ essay on Magical Realism on that he does not offer a formal definition of magical realism. He does not agree with Flores’ definition of magical realism because he includes authors who do not belong to the movement. Neither does he agree that Borges started the movement in 1935. He says that the term magical realism was first used by the art critic Franz Roh to designate the pictorial output of the Post-expressionist period. Magical Realism is not magic literature. Its aim is to express emotions, not to evoke them. Magical Realism is an attitude toward reality that can be expressed in popular or cultured forms.

JLG- Roh et al

Roh discusses the different forms of art and how they have progressed over time. He says that you can tell the different phases of art apart by "means of the particular objects that artists perceive, among all other objects in the world." When talking about objectivity, he says how paintings should overcome who is looking at it and create a feeling, bring up memories. Paintings give a feeling of reality and that they are not a copy of what is, but in a sense “another creation.” To show something realistically is it not to copy but to “build rigorously” and make objects that exist in the world . I think this is important because the concept of not copying or portraying is mentioned by Flores as well. The “mysteries” are not created by the painters, they are not here in the world in painting but they are hiding behind it.

Flores says that “time exists in a kind of timeless fluidity and the unreal happens as part of reality.” Magical realists are not creating new worlds but they cause people to find complexities and questions in the world we live in. Those of magical realism stick to reality, “to confuse with clarity.”

Leal says that magical realism began in 1935. What he says is similar to Flores in that magical realist writers have certain things in common one of which is they change the “common and the everyday into the awesome and the unreal.” Again, they are not creating a new world but showing the world in different ways. He compares supperrealism and magical realism in that magical realism doesn’t use dramatic motifs or alter reality or create fake and interesting worlds, or try to reason. He also notes that magical realism is not magical literature its goal is to “express emotions not evoke them”. The write faces reality and untangles it interprets it to find the mysterious things that are already here.

ERK Roh et al

Roh

In this article, Roh attempts to explain the evolution of several different art styles from impressionism to expressionism and then from expressionism to post-expressionism and futurism. Roh starts out by arguing that we can examine the differences in phases of art by examining the objects that artists depict in the art. He also emphasizes the way in which the objects are depicted. Roh sees espressionism in response to impressionism as depicting more "fantastic, extraterrestrial and remote objects." This trend gave rise to futurism in which the objective world was depicted in an "abrupt" and cryptic from. In response to futurism. post_expressionism sought to compromise by making the strange influences of futurism and expressionism a part of reality and depicting them as normal.

Flores

In this article, Flores argues that magical realism began as a movenemt in the 1930's and was started by Borges. The works of this writing style usually represent time as changeable and abstract and depict a reality where unreal things are commonplace.

Leal

Leal argues in response to Flores' claims about the origins or magical realism that the genre was not started in 1935 by Borges. The term magical realism was first used by Roh in 1925 and first used in Latin America in 1948. Leal believes that this genre should "express emotions and not evoke them," and that "the writer confronts reality and tries to untangle it" in true magical realism.

JPA - Roh, Flores, Leal

Roh

Roh’s essay is all about the new era of art, called post-expressionism, and its transition from expressionism and impressionism. Roh called this new art magical realism. In his essay, Roh describes the differences between this new realism of European art and the previous way people and artists would view a painting. Expressionism and Impressionism has a simplified way of viewing art, focusing simply on the shapes and colors of the objects. Post-expressionism had an objective way of viewing art, such as the smells, tastes, textures, and other representations that came to mind when viewing a specific painting. Viewing art became much more intense and deep according to Roh. Roh also believed that before magical realism, people took the exterior world, which the art is representative of, for granted. During post-expressionism, artists began to take into account the reality of the art that they were creating. For example, a picture on the wall was seen more as a window, where the painting represented the “reality” of looking out into the world around us. Roh explain that Magical realism focused on the actual existence of the art and the material matter that each painting represents, whereas before the art just represented the simple color and shape of the objects. Roh ends his essay by explain how post-expressionistic art paid much more attention to detail than earlier art. He explains that “a small painting the size of a plate could produce the impression of a poster the size of a house.” Post-expressionism was able to focus on many different objects spread over the horizon, and then separate them without some objects breaking off into space as if they did not exist.

Flores

Flores describes the time where Latin America was flourishing with many talented authors, who were all able to perfect the craft of writing fiction. These magical realists were able to transform the common everyday life into unreal and magical stories. At the same time they were able to keep plots that were very logical and easy to follow by their readers. These Latin American writers were able to move away from the highly criticized and confusing writing that filled their past, and create brilliant novels and short stories that made the “magical realism” era.

Leal

Leal’s essay is what he believes Magical Realism truly is where he highly criticizes when Flores has to say. Leal believes that magical realism is not magical literature and does not distort reality into imaginary worlds. Instead Leal claims that it is an attitude toward reality where an author confronts reality and tries to untangle it and discover what things in life are mysterious and strange. Leal says that the events in magical realism have no logical explanation and do not focus on the reality of its surroundings. In fantastic literature, the author must justify the series of events, however in magical realist works, the mystery of the represented world hides and is unexplained. Leal believes that the reader must search for what is realistic in the story and then just accept what cannot be explained without wanting any reason for its mystery.

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Luis Leal – Summary of Main Points

This essay was a criticism of Angel Flores’ definition of magic & realism. Luis states that the earliest known writing of magic & realism began when Kafka combined the nightmares he had when he slept with his reality when he awoke. In magic & realism, reality is bent when the unusual becomes usual and the bizarre is accepted at normal. Writers use reality as a way to keep their myths from becoming fairy tales. Magic and realism does not falsify reality, it merely an attitude toward reality that is able to be expressed in several different methods. If a certain reader does not accept what he/she is reading then simply put, their attitude toward reality is not magic.
Leal discusses how magic and realism is not about conceiving new fantasy worlds but more about revealing the relationship of reality and magic. In order to reveal this relationship, the reader’s sense of reality must be increased until they reach an extreme state. Only then can they embrace what magic and realism is all about.


Franz Roh – Summary of main Points

In this essay, Roh discusses how many methods are used in order to express artist’s emotions in their paintings. Throughout the essay Roh displays the differences between all these different styles of paintings. He includes impressionism, expressionism, futurism as well as the movement toward Post-expressionism. Roh claims that expressionism uses abnormal objects as its focal point and these objects serve as the basis of the differentiation. He tells of how reality is used in order to show this separation, and more specifically religious figures and animals were the objects most often distorted in the art.
Roh states that the strange and unnatural are used in magic and realism because there is no need to paint ordinary objects because they have all already been reproduced in the past. He then goes on to state how objectivity is so important to magic and realism because nature is so often displayed, unlike in music and architecture, where objectivity is not so important. Objectivity limit impressionism and futurism but post-expressionism allows for full objectivity which he claims to be the most satisfying part about painting.
With magic and realism, painting has become a form of creation rather than imitation. Roh claims that it is used as a “window into a different reality.” He concludes his essay by claiming that magic and realism paintings are the most fantastic forms of art by far.


Flores – Main Idea

The main idea to Angel Flores’ magic realism in Spanish essay is about the literary criticism that magic realism receives. Flores claims that magic realism writes have tried to get these critics on their side by adding more romanticism and naturalism to the literature. Flores claims that this time period has the most talented writers ever combining forces to cultivate the art of fiction. Flores feels that this was accomplished and Latin America now has “authentic expression.”

NEB. Roh, Flores and Leal

Franz Roh

           Franz Roh in his essay argues that in this world of selection and creation people might try to have a history of art that would include all of the favorite themes and in an attempt to do so, new influences in methods of painting appeared.

Roh introduced the term ‘’Magical Realism’’ in his essay and discussed about the many characteristics of magical realism in Post-Expressionist paintings. Describing the ways in which this new movement (Post-Expressionist) returns to a renewed delight in real objects. Roh claimed that Post-expressionism tried to reintegrate the elemental happiness of having a visual perception again and making painting as the mirror to the tangible exterior.

Along his essay Roh emphasizes in the many differences between Post-Expressionism with Realism, Futurism and Impressionism. To illustrate with some of the main ideas: Roh said that these new paintings were real and clear forms of art as opposed to fantastic ones (Realism), which were join in a way that does not adapt to the human race daily reality. Furthermore, that this new forms of painting included a return to objectivity and the material, as opposed to Expressionism and Impressionism’s tendency to ignore the matter. Moreover, believes that Magic realism's focus on the actual existence of things of mundane subject matter as opposed to the Expressionist preference for magical, fantastic and unreal objects. In the last part of his essay Roh wrote about the use of miniature details in this Post-expressionism form of painting even in large landscapes that was much more precise than Expressionism.

He finally concluded his essay saying that as much as Impressionism and Realism were a fantastic and delightful art, Magic realism paintings were something more perfect and complete in every aspect.

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Angel Flores

The main idea of this essay is that Angel Flores is trying to clean up Latin America literature in the eyes of the critics. This literature has been underestimated because critics have failed to call Magic Realism for what it is and to put it into the right movement and category. Some of the movements were Magic realism was put into were: realism, romanticism, naturalism and existentialism.

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Luis Leal 

 

Luis Leal wrote his essay as a response to Angel Flores. He criticizes the vague definition of Magical realism that Flores intended to gave in his study and also the authors that he used to describe the movement because Leal considered that they did not fit in very well.

Leal begun his essay by saying what Magical realism is not, and then end with the definition of it. Particularly, he said that Magic Realism is not a magic literature because it does not create imaginary worlds. Then, he argued that this type of literature do not emphasize in the psychological analysis of the characters and the plot but totally the opposite, Leal said that Magic realism do not have logic explanations to why things happened the way they do. Moreover, he said that this movement does not create fantasy worlds nor is a ‘aesthetic’ or ‘escapist’ literature.

The correct definition of Magic realism for Leal was that this literature aim were: embrace the mystery without justification, having interest in the central imperceptible theme, and to clear up reality by watching how the humans act.  

 

 

ROH et al.

Summarize the points of Roh and Leal. Summarize the main idea of Flores.