Formalism

a. Formalism is the theory of art that doesn't have to have a reason, it is simply art to be art. It isn't made to give the audience a certain feeling or that is meant to please the audience. It is visually appealing to some and hideous to others. It is generally non-objective but it doesn't have to be and uses line, shape, and color. 

b. Wassily Kandinsky's work fits the description of Formalism very well. He uses the difference in line, shape and color to make the art compositionally successful. Some of his stuff is abstract and others clearly have an objective such as the painting with the landscape of the house. His work in my opinion lets the viewer use their imagination to form an opinion about the composition in front of them. You can look at his work for a minute or you can sit there for 20-30 finding new objects peeking through the art. 

c. Piet Mondrain's work fits into this category, it is obvious that line and color alone make this work "artwork." I really like the picture of the Nike shoes because they go along with his theme of using primary colors but everyone, any age can recognize the Nike symbol on the side of the shoe. This one isn't quite as easy to sit and imagine different shapes and objects but still just as visually appealing as Kandinsky's art.

d. I chose Chris Burnside because our ideas are a lot alike. They are both abstract compositions of colorful random swirly lines. He enjoys how partial circles are made and that is exactly what my drawing is made up of, different circles and partial circles depending on where the line goes next. Our mediums are different though. He likes to use wood and acrylic where as I used paper, highlighter pens, pencil and colored pencil.