Knight's Move

Drawing on chess terminology, Shklovsky explains his title in the first preface, stating that it has three meanings: 1) the conventions of art: the knight moves in an L-shape because of such a convention; 2) the non-freedom of art: the knight moves sideways because other directions are forbidden to [...]
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Drawing on chess terminology, Shklovsky explains his title in the first preface, stating that it has three meanings: 1) the conventions of art: the knight moves in an L-shape because of such a convention; 2) the non-freedom of art: the knight moves sideways because other directions are forbidden to it; and 3) the plight of Shklovsky himself, referring to his escape from Russia in March of 1922. Using this metaphor as the frame for the thirty-six essays collected here, Shklovsky explores the nature of art, defending the interdependence of art while demonstrating the new formalist criticism for which he is famous. In pieces on theatre, painting, and sculpture, the primary argument of this book is that artists don't try to copy reality, but use reality as the material for creating art.