“Complex simplicity”: from metaphor to concept

The artistic culture of the 20th century is characterized by complex processes that have affected the aesthetics, philosophy of art and technology of creating works of art. The search for common patterns that unite different types of contemporary art is an urgent problem. The notion of “complex simplicity” is increasingly common in the cultural sphere as a generalized view of various artistic phenomena. The purpose of the article is to determine the conceptual status of “complex simplicity” and the specifics of its manifestations in the artistic culture of the 20th century. In the first half of the 20th century Prokofiev declared “new simplicity” as an alternative to the intentional complication of the musical language. Similar phenomena emerged in foreign musical culture: the anti-romantic orientation “Les Six”, the rational ideas of the “Second Viennese School”, the harmony and simplicity of neoclassicism. The fundamental difference of creative positions has been outlined: the desire for simplicity “in general” (as accessibility, primitivism) - and the desire for simplicity of the new quality, combined with the complexity of internal organization. In the painting the idea of a simple form was elevated to the level of a complex aesthetic concept - a new philosophy of color and form (Rayonism, Suprematism, etc.). The idea of “emptiness and simplicity” and the slogan “Less is more” (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) dominated in architecture and interior design. The following factors actualized the interest in “complex simplicity”: 1) the complexity of the internal organization was an opportunity for the Creator not to fall into primitivism and simplification. So the masters separate themselves from the amateurism generated by the mass culture of the 20th century; 2) quality of simplicity allowed to protect the person from event and information oversaturation of modern life; 3) socio-cultural situation and artistic ideology of socialist realism has become an important factor in the domestic art. “Complex simplicity” in contemporary art is represented by two options: either an artistic text has a complex idea and content with simplicity of form and perception; or a simple concept is combined with a complex structure. This problem is actively manifested itself in the 20th century due to the increased attention to the communicative functions of culture and its texts. “Complex simplicity” implements the most important principles of postmodernism: it gives the opportunity to speak a professional and complex language in the “era of lost simplicity” (U. Eco), allows the recipient of any level of training to perceive the literary text as far as possible (pluralism of meanings). “Complex simplicity” can be considered as a property of the text of culture that characterizes its communicative functions. Despite the metaphorical nature of “complex simplicity”, it can become a full-fledged concept due to the specificity of the terminological apparatus of cultural science