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The Sides of Limit and the Possibilities for Artistic Creation: On the Influence of Wittgenstein’s Philosophy on Contemporary Art

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Abstract

The paper addresses the influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy on contemporary art. The presented hypothesis highlights two teachings in particular that can be drawn from Wittgenstein’s philosophy: one is linked to the work of investigation and analysis that aims at clarifying the dimensions and the essence of an object of investigation; the other concerns the identification of the limit and the relationship with the possibility of overcoming it. Both teachings are dealt with considering the question of form, the possible symmetry between the philosophical and the artistic work, and paying attention to the two productive directions of contemporary art: the former characterised by the strengthening of form, and the latter marked by its impoverishment.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professors Luigi Perissinotto, Silvana Borutti, Wolfgang Huemer, Tiziana Andina and Dr. Diego Mantoan for their comments and remarks on the first version of this paper that I have presented at the conference The Artist and the Philosopher: Paolozzi and Wittgenstein, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the Querini Stampalia Foundation, Venice, November 23–25, 2016.

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Correspondence to Davide Dal Sasso .

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Dal Sasso, D. (2019). The Sides of Limit and the Possibilities for Artistic Creation: On the Influence of Wittgenstein’s Philosophy on Contemporary Art. In: Mantoan, D., Perissinotto, L. (eds) Paolozzi and Wittgenstein. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15846-0_12

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