Formalism.

Formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is based completely by the way it is made, it's purely visual aspects and it's medium. It emphasizes compositional elements such as colour, line, shape and texture. This concept can be traced back as far as Plato, who argued that the shape of a thing included our perceptions of it, as well as those sensory aspects of a thing which the human mind can take in. He argued that shape included elements of representation and imitation, since the thing itself could not be replicated. Plato also believed that this was deceptive.

The concept of formalism in art evolved through the 20th century. Some art critics argue for a return to Plato's definition for Form. Another view argues that representational elements must be intelligible, but still aiming to capture the object's form.