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| Different people have their own understandings of what Postmodernism is. |
Modernism refers
to a movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the
twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of
modern industrial life. Building on issues from the late nineteenth-century instances,
artists from around the world used new techniques and imagery to create art that
they felt better reflected the realities of modern societies. Like other issues
that emerge in society Modernism was driven by various elements in political
and social agendas. This movement included many different “isms” to form. Some of
these ‘isms’ that sort of formed one after each other were called
impressionism, postimpressionism, fauvism, cubism, and expressionism. The Modernism
era allowed the flexibility for women to be more active in the arts. In the 20th
century, women were allowed the right to vote, essentially giving them more of
an opportunity to become artists. Despite women having the freedom to paint and
participate in the arts, they still received a lot of discrimination, as it was
believed that male artist’s work was still better. Although Modernism gave hope
for women to make it as successful artists, societal expectations were still
instilled in society, where women were still expected to stay at home and cater
to their husband and children’s every need.
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Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1979: This picture shows how women
were viewed as being a seductress and how it can be inferred
that this woman is waiting for her husband to come home.
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Women artists in
Europe helped influence the techniques and development of Modernism. An example
of a female artist that did not receive the recognition she deserved because of
a man, was named Sonia Terk Delaunay. She was a Russian born woman who grew up
painting because her uncle had supported her dreams to study art. She married a
man who was from an aristocratic family but had lost all of their family money
and fortune. They lived off of Sonia’s family income until she lost it all
during the Russian Revolution. Instead of her husband working in order to make
ends meet, Sonia worked hard to support her husband and son by opening a
boutique. This boutique went on making and selling creative items such as tapestries
and costumes. In the text it states, “While his painting (her husband) never
changed very much over the years, Sonia was always innovating, thinking of new
ways their ideas could be applied to the world at large” (Guerilla
Girls, 61). This showed how women in other parts of the world were constantly
coming up with ways that would better their lives, essentially proving how Modernism
was in full effect. There was a point in time where women were being supported
for their artistic talents and were pushed to further their education in it.
Especially after the revolution, women artists were inspired, so many of their
new designs were about it. In the text it states, “Russian artists quickly
declared easel paining decadent and created a new kind of abstract art meant to
‘uplift the masses’. They outfitted trains with political slogans, pamphlets,
and films and sent them traveling all over the countryside, promoting the
revolution” (Guerilla Girls, 64). This shows how women used art as a form of
being politically active rather than following the societal expectations for
women. It also shows how important circumstances such as the Russian Revolution
aided women in applying these issues through their artwork, and create new approaches
to art.
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| Another picture from Cindy Sherman where it is evident that she wants to symbolize how society should reconsider stereotypes and cultural assumptions. |
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| Another piece by Barbara Kruger. Here, it is evident that her work is direct and straight to the point, while also being able to convey important messages. |
Compared to the Modernism era that took place in the late 19th century, the Postmodernism movement took place after World War II. The ideas behind this new era was to highlight the manipulation society was undergoing through mechanisms of advertising and machinery. It essentially questioned and critiqued the rationality of modernism. In the text it states, “The term Postmodernism has been used to characterize the breaking down of the unified (though hardly monolithic) traditions of Modernism…The fact that Postmodernism draws heavily on existing representations, rather than inventing new styles, and that it often derives its imagery from mass media or popular culture, has focused attention on the ways that sexual and cultural difference are produced and reinforced in these images” (Chadwick, 382). The way women were positioned in photographs were critiqued heavily as it depicted patriarchal power. Cindy Sherman is an American famous artist and photographer who created and shared a lot of different photos during the Postmodernism movement. Her photographs revealed the instability of gender, and challenged the idea that there might be an innate female sexuality. She exposes the “real” woman behind the images that Western culture has already instilled in society through the use of film and advertising. She positioned herself within an art historical tradition that has for centuries objected the female body. In her photographs, she alters the way she looks, in most cases in a different and deformed way, to represent how society is used to seeing the appearance of women a particular way. She mostly compares the women portrayed in movies and advertisements from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Postmodernism era emerged so many different viewpoints on the way society is structured that even companies started to change their advertisements. In the text it states, “Designers like Coco Chanel were ‘masculinizing’ women’s fashions, the ‘new look’ also began to make its presence felt in the visual arts” (Chadwick, 302). This shows that the different aspects from the Postmodernism era had influenced many people, including big companies, through the use of art and design. This just proves that people use art as not only a form of expression, but how it also has the effect to cause great change whether it be political or social.
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| Barbara Kruger is an American artist whose work focuses on conveying direct feminist critique.
Modernism and Postmodernism:
References:
1. Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.
2. The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin
Books.
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