Modernism VS Postmodernism

Modernism VS Postmodernism

Modernism art is a radical break with the past. Modernity is characterized by increasing secularism and diminished religious authority. Before 19 century, lots of the paintings were made by artists who were hired by wealthy people or powerful institutions like the church. Therefore, many artworks were religious which shows whatever the patrons want to express to their audiences. We can barely see the artist’s personal opinions or feelings from the painting.

Modernism art searches for new forms of expression. According to Richman-Abdou: “Modern art is renowned for its avant-garde aesthetic and celebrated for its forward-thinking artists. Modernism cultivated a period of experimentation in the arts which incorporates many influential art movements and has inevitably seen a diverse range of styles after developed throughout roughly 100 years.

Like what was stated in Guerrilla Girls: “from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th, the revolution was on everyone’s mind, including artists”(Guerrilla Girls 59).  At the end of the 19th century, many artists already moved their focus from making art base on the request of patrons to their personal emotional or experience. Moreover, due to the fact that they were no longer painting for someone, they have the freedom to choose the topic they would like to depict.

Furthermore, in 1899 psychologist Sigmund Freud published his book The Interpretation of Dreams and the “popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind, many artists began exploring dreams, symbolism, and personal iconography as avenues for the depiction of their subjective experiences, which challenged the notion that art must realistically depict the world. (Modernism Oil Paintings)", which can be demonstrated by the below paintings.

The Annunciation, 
1437-46Fra Angelico

Commodore George Walker
 (before 1700-1777)

Both of the paintings were painted in before Modernism. The one on the left is named "The Annunciation", which is apparently religious and the one on the right is called “Commodore George Walker”. We can predict from the art or even from the name that the person who was in the painting was wealthy and powerful. Both of the painters were doing their best to ensure that the portrait looks as much like real people or in the second art, George Walker, as possible. 

Louis Armstrong and His Mentors,
 Jerry Jackson Collect

However, the painting on the left which was painted during Modernism is completely different. The art is called “Louis Armstrong and His Mentors”; however, the art is so abstract that it is impossible to know what the artist was trying to depict by merely looking at the art. It is obvious that the artist had no intention to make his artwork look close to the actual object.

Abstract art and expressionism are the two main characteristics of modernism. Artists live in Modernism stoped trying to accurately depict the objects; they focus more on drawing the impression of the object that they have in mind.

Besides, the object in the painting is also very different from the time before Modernism. Before Modernism, lots of paintings are about churches and influential people's portraits, but during Modernism more and more artists started to depict about landscape like the famous "The Starry Night" below which was painted by Vincent van Gogh. It is also very abstract too.

The Starry Night, 1889
Vincent van Gogh

Whitney Chadwick defined Postmodernism in her book Women, Art, and Society as a term that "has been used to characterize the breaking down of the unified (though hardly monolithic) traditions of Modernism" (Chadwick, 380). Postmodernists reject "the idea of artistic development as goal-oriented, the notion that only men are artistic geniuses, and the colonialist assumption that non-white races are inferior" (Postmodern Art). In my opinion, women start to have more freedom to express their opinion of view in their artwork during the age of Postmodernism. Therefore, feminist art that challenged patriarchal ways of thinking is often or seen as representations of postmodernism.

Furthermore, the technique of how art is created changed a lot too. Before Postmodernism almost all the artwork were created solely by the artists themselves. However, Postmodernists overthrew the belief which holds there is only one internal sense of the art which is predetermined by the artist at the time of creation. Postmodernists believe that the audience can also be an essential determiner of the meaning. Moreover, some artists ask their audiences to participate in the artwork. 

Cut Piece, 1964

Yoko Ono

The performance work "Cut Piece" from Japanese artist Yoko Ono is a great example: The artist sat alone on a stage. A pair of scissors was placed in front of her. The audience had been instructed to use the scissors to cut off a small piece of her clothing. Some people acted hesitantly, only cutting a small piece of fabric from her sleeve. While others came abruptly, cut off her bra. Ono remained motionless and expressionless until the performance was ended. In reflecting upon the performance, Yoko said: “When I do the Cut Piece, I get into a trance, and so I don’t feel too frightened.…We usually give something with a purpose…but I wanted to see what they would take…..”  Contracted to the artwork before Postmodernism, the soul of the "Cut Piece" was actually created by both the artist and the audiences. The intervention of the viewers was required to create and complete the work.

Bicycle Wheel

Marcel Duchamp

The Dada readymade also represents a significant part of Postmodernism, which "questioned long-held assumptions about what art should be, and how it should be made. It also disrupted centuries of thinking about the artist’s role as a skilled creator of original handmade objects" (Readymades of Marcel Duchamp).  As a pioneer of Dada, Duchamp asserted: “An ordinary object [could be] elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” As we can see in the above picture which is the third version of Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel. Bicycle and wheel are all very common items in daily life, no one before the Postmodern time would relate them to art. 

The readymade also challenged the assumption that art must be beautiful. The line between "High culture" and "love culture" was becoming vaguer and vaguer during the Postmodern time.  Take Edgar Degas as an example, he "painted on fans, and later in Cubism where Pablo Picasso often included the lyrics of popular songs on his canvases (Postmodern Art)." It demonstrates that all visual culture is equally valid and it can be appreciated and enjoyed without any artistic education.

Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.

Guerilla Girls. The Guerilla Girls' bedside Companion to the History of Western Art .

Kelly Richman-Abdou, What is Modern Art? Exploring the Movements That Define the Groundbreaking Genre, November 4, 2017

Modernism Oil Paintings - NiceArtGallery.com

Postmodern Art - Modern Art Terms and Concepts, TheArtStoryhttps://www.theartstory.org/definition-postmodernism.htm