The Disintegration of Form in the Arts

Published by George Braziller, this scholarly study examines modernist fragmentation across literature, visual arts, and music. Kahler traces cultural shifts in 20th-century artistic expression and their relationship to broader social and philosophical changes.

The book analyzes how traditional artistic forms broke down in the early 20th century, examining works by artists, writers, and composers who abandoned classical structures in favor of experimental approaches. Kahler explores the philosophical and cultural forces driving this transformation, from urbanization to psychological theories to technological change.

The work provides important theoretical framework for understanding modernist artistic movements and their cultural context. Kahler's interdisciplinary approach influenced later scholarship in comparative arts and cultural studies. The book helped establish modernist fragmentation as a coherent artistic and cultural phenomenon rather than random experimentation.

Erich Kahler was a German-Jewish intellectual who fled Nazi Germany and became influential in American cultural criticism. His interdisciplinary approach reflected European traditions of cultural criticism that influenced American intellectual life. The book's publication helped American readers understand European modernist movements within broader cultural contexts.