Towards “Poetic Dwelling”—— The Ontological Turn in the Western Concept of Artistic Truth after Impressionism

Abstract

Since the 19th century, Western art has broken away from the classical representational system and social functions, shifting from the realistic depiction to a modern exploration of the manifesting world. Artistic value has also begun to shift from imitating nature and expressing personal emotions to articulating broader existential experience. The Impressionists' focus on light and sensations, Cézanne's reconstruction of viewing structures and spatial relations, and van Gogh's presentation of life emotions and existential conditions all indicate that modern art concerns how the world manifests itself. This paper traces the ontological turn in modern art's conception of truth after Impressionism, using phenomenology and Heidegger to analyze the shift from objective to existential truth. Heidegger's manifestive view of art also resonates with traditional Chinese artistic concepts such as "vital energy" (“气韵”) and "one-stroke" (“一画”). This paper argues that modern art's turn toward autonomy and abstract expression is a deep shift in the conception of artistic truth: art is no longer a mirror of the world, but a space in which the world manifests itself—reawakening human beings' capacity for poetic dwelling in the world.