Around 1962, ‘formalism’ could indicate methodological purity in the realms of both art and science. With camps in both disciplines attempting to minimize human intervention in the realm of decision‐making, ‘formalism’ could take on mechanical overtones, thereby linking art and science in profound ways. This essay considers the ways in which the austere abstract paintings of Morris Louis from the years surrounding 1960 bring these dual formalisms into focus. When viewed through the criticism of Clement Greenberg and the near‐unwavering faith President Kennedy's administration placed in new technocratic ways of waging war, Louis's paintings can be seen as beatified expressions of a mechanical rationality that also brought the world to the brink of nuclear apocalypse. Through deep engagement with Greenberg's criticism and media archives, the essay forges links between Greenberg's version of Louis and the dark sides of this rationality. The article concludes by locating ways to consider Louis's paintings outside of the Greenbergian straitjacket – recapturing the strangeness and chaotic nature of the painter's practice.

中文翻译：

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“原子军团的旗帜”：莫里斯·路易斯，格林伯格的现代主义和科学，c。1962年

大约在1962年，“形式主义”可以表明艺术和科学领域中方法论的纯粹性。由于这两个学科的阵营都试图将对决策领域的人为干预降至最低，因此“形式主义”可能具有机械色彩，从而将艺术与科学深刻地联系在一起。本文考虑了莫里斯·路易斯（Morris Louis）从1960年左右开始的严肃抽象绘画如何使这些双重形式主义成为焦点。通过对克莱门特·格林伯格的批评和坚决不移的信念，肯尼迪政府以新的技术官僚主义发动战争的方式来看待路易斯，他的画作可以看作是机械理性的开明表达，也使世界濒临了核世界末日。通过与格林伯格的批评和媒体档案馆的深入合作，这篇文章伪造了格林伯格的《路易》与这种理性的阴暗面之间的联系。本文的结尾是找到在格林伯格式紧身衣之外考虑路易丝作品的方法，从而重新获得画家实践的奇特性和混乱性。