Cubism Cubism was the first totally abstract art movement—it broke all the rules artists had followed since the Renaissance

Non-representational Best-known Non-representational Like a view through a window, Cubists looked cross-eyed through a kaleidoscope, suggesting their feelings through neutral color and geometric forms.

Cubism: A Cross-Eyed Look at the Modern World Bunch of lines and planes and dabs of color But entitled: Still Life with Fruit Bowl Joke? Appear indecipherable—after a little looking, they do make since Shook the art world like Einstein’s theory of relativity Tried to create a new language of representation, a new way of seeing things

How it All Began Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque Avant garde painter in Paris (1907) Braque is credited with starting first Principle influence was African art and Paul Cezanne Picasso was working through his Blue and Rose Periods (tonality of Symbolists)

Building Blocks of Form Emphasized geometric elements You know a sphere for a body, a cone, a neck; a block for a head. African masks—expressive—iconic

La Demoiselles d’Avignon 1907 Picasso —ugliest painting ever(use to keep a blanket over it in his studio) —considered the first cubist painting —tendency toward abstraction —5 naked prostitutes two which have African Masks

Braque Road Near L’Estaque (1908) —like Rocky Horror Picture Show —they started working together —two mountains roped togeterh. —their paintings started to look alike —they even stopped signing them for awhile —art historians even have trouble today

Two Phases Analytical—artist tried to depict a thing from many angles at once. 1909-1912 Synthetic—builds up a picture from a combination of abstract signs and visual elements (like a collage)

Picasso (Analytical) Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1910)

Picasso—Synthetic The Three Musicians (1921) —no attempt to replicate actual visual appearance of a scene —arbritary shapes and colors —two dimensional building blocks

Invention of Collage —practice of adding real stuff from the world —they added sand, rope, anything short of roadkill

Picasso’s Collage 1912 used old wallpaper, fake wood graining, colored papers (in the other paintings he glued imitation chair caning to the canvass)

Fernand Leger real objects onto the canvas

Cubism: the mother of all modernist styles Cubism: change the way art was made and ushered in the notions of a strict art, art for art’s sake, and modern art. Ryaonnism Futurism Expressionism Cubo-Futurism Vorticism Divisionism Constructivism De Stijl Orphism Suprematism

More next time –Johnny Appleseed