The process of formation begins with the study of chaos, a constantly renewed allusion to divine creation. This topos of the beginning - the white paper, the stain of paint, the cold clay, or the open gap between buildings - has been a core element of discussing art since Pliny, and it found its continuation in art theory. Yet, if form is removed from a thing, the opposite comes into play. The material aesthetic debate regarding formlessness has always been subject to the condition that matter is formless in itself.

This volume contains contributions by internationally renowned scholars and attempts to understand the creation and deduction of form, which both play an equally important role when a work of art unfolds its potency.