Making Sense of Modernism By Stacey L. DeCaro (2007)

What is Modernism? “An art movement characterized by the deliberate departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms of expression that distinguish many styles in the arts and literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”

How Did Modernism Impact Visual Arts? Artists broke free from the restraints of tradition and started pushing back the boundaries of art. They experimented with new materials like found objects and new types of paints. Artists broke free from the restraints of tradition and started pushing back the boundaries of art. They experimented with new materials like found objects and new types of paints. Content and subject matter began to undergo rapid changes. Instead of art depicting the world around us, artists began exploring other realms such as: feelings, ideas, fantasies, and dreams. Content and subject matter began to undergo rapid changes. Instead of art depicting the world around us, artists began exploring other realms such as: feelings, ideas, fantasies, and dreams. These new creations sometimes took the form of what we now call abstract art with unrecognizable forms. These new creations sometimes took the form of what we now call abstract art with unrecognizable forms. Art started to require audiences to take a more active role. Art started to require audiences to take a more active role.

The Emergence of Modernism Art is influenced by current events. Therefore Modernism was a rebellion, a kind of cultural backlash, by artists in response to the way they felt about the world around them. Art is influenced by current events. Therefore Modernism was a rebellion, a kind of cultural backlash, by artists in response to the way they felt about the world around them. “ The avant-garde artist consciously rejected tradition.” “The position taken by progressive modernism came to be referred to as the avant- garde (a military term meaning "advance-guard"). The avant-garde artist consciously rejected tradition.” “…the avant-garde artist saw him- or herself as standing at the head of a new tradition stretching, hopefully, into the future. The progressive modernist looked to the future…” “…the avant-garde artist saw him- or herself as standing at the head of a new tradition stretching, hopefully, into the future. The progressive modernist looked to the future…” “The First World War signaled catastrophic failure of tradition. The senseless, mechanized carnage of the "Great War" starkly showed that faith in scientific and technological progress as the path to a better world was patently wrong. “The First World War signaled catastrophic failure of tradition. The senseless, mechanized carnage of the "Great War" starkly showed that faith in scientific and technological progress as the path to a better world was patently wrong. (Witcombe, 2000)

Art for Art’s Sake “As the 19th century progressed, the exercise of artistic freedom became fundamental… Artists began to seek freedom not just from the rules of academic art, but from the demands of the public. Soon it was claimed that art should be produced not for the public's sake, but for art's sake.” “As the 19th century progressed, the exercise of artistic freedom became fundamental… Artists began to seek freedom not just from the rules of academic art, but from the demands of the public. Soon it was claimed that art should be produced not for the public's sake, but for art's sake.” “Art for Art's Sake is basically a call for release from the tyranny of meaning and purpose. From a progressive modernist's point of view, it was a further exercise of freedom. It was also a ploy, another deliberate affront to bourgeois sensibility which demanded art with meaning or that had some purpose such as to instruct, or delight, or to moralize, and generally to reflect in some way their own purposeful and purpose-filled world.” “Art for Art's Sake is basically a call for release from the tyranny of meaning and purpose. From a progressive modernist's point of view, it was a further exercise of freedom. It was also a ploy, another deliberate affront to bourgeois sensibility which demanded art with meaning or that had some purpose such as to instruct, or delight, or to moralize, and generally to reflect in some way their own purposeful and purpose-filled world.” (Witcombe, 2000)

What were some of the major sub-movements of Modernism? Dadaism Dadaism “Dada, or Dadaism, was a cultural movement that involved visual arts, literature (mainly poetry), theatre, and graphic design, and began in neutral Zürich, Switzerland during World War I.” Bauhaus Bauhaus “Bauhaus is the common term for the Staatliches Bauhaus, an art and architecture school in Germany that operated from 1919 to 1933, and for the approach to design that it developed and taught. The most natural meaning for its name (related to the German verb for "build") is Architecture House. Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist architecture.” Constructivism Constructivism An abstractionist artistic movement in Russia after World War I; industrial materials were used to construct nonrepresentational objects.” Futurism Futurism “an art movement which began in Italy that opposed traditionalism and sought to depict dynamic movement by eliminating conventional form and by addressing the speed, flux, and violence of the machine age.” Surrealism Surrealism “A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of matter.” Cubism Cubism “An early 20th-century school of painting and sculpture in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometric forms without realistic detail, stressing abstract form at the expense of other pictorial elements largely by use of intersecting often transparent cubes and cones.”

Who are some of the famous artists of this era? Joseph Cornell Joseph CornellJoseph CornellJoseph Cornell Marcel Duchamp Marcel DuchampMarcel DuchampMarcel Duchamp Pablo Picasso Pablo PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Picasso Jean Arp Jean Arp George Braque George Braque Piet Mondrian Piet Mondrian Paul Klee Paul KleePaul KleePaul Klee Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti Max Ernst Max Ernst André Masson André Masson René Magritte René Magritte Salvador Dalí Salvador DalíSalvador DalíSalvador Dalí Pierre Roy Pierre Roy Paul Delvaux Paul Delvaux Joan Miró Joan MiróJoan MiróJoan Miró This list represents only a small fragment of the artists that contributed to the Modernist Movement. Note: Links have been randomly included.

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