Modernism: Late 19th
century – 20th centuries
Modernism had a more positive and
optimistic view of the present and the future while the purpose of this ideal
was to rid the conventions of the past. Art was seen in a lateral light – able
to build and grow from what it was. According to our Chadwick book, and idea of
modernism was described as, “…a dynamic
interplay of color harmonies and dissonances which replicated the rhythms of
modern urban life" (Chadwick 260).
It as important for artists and artwork to
only get better and this was done by trying to be the “first” of something
which meant constant new ideas, creativity and innovation. In modernism, art
was seen as superior, more specifically painting. Artists were not primarily
focused on making art out of many different things in thousands of different
ways during this modernistic time. Painting was the most superior (paintings
by men of course who painted for elitists) whereas any other type of
artwork and artwork by women were not viewed as nearly as important. According
to Lumen Learning’s article, “The Rise of Modernism”, “painting, during the 1920s and the 1930s and
the Great Depression, modernism is defined by Surrealism, late Cubism, Bauhaus,
De Stijl, Dada, German Expressionism” (lumencandela, 2018). Here is a link to the article that gives a decent explanation of modernism.
An example of a modern artist is Georgia O’Keeffe. She
focused a lot on feminitiy and people also sometimes described her as painting
“petalled pussies” which is sort of insulting in a way due to the fact that her
work and contribution to modern art was way more in depth than that. O’Keeffe represented optimism well because
she overcame hardships and focused very much on her work. She was divorced,
travelled and also learned to drive which was a rarity in her time. She
represented femininity well and gave women an optimistic view with her
beautiful art.
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| Black Iris 1926 - Georgia O'Keeffe |
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| Grey Lines with Black, Blue and Yellow - Georgia O'Keeffe |
Postmodernism: after WWII
The ending of
modernism and the beginning of postmodernism was considered an issue with the
“breaking down of the unified traditions of Modernism”(Chadwick 380). As this
quote implies, the point of postmodernism was to overthrow modernism.
Overthrowing modernism was done by acknowledging the fact that there is many
ideas that contribute to art. Art can be more than one thing – art can be 10
things at once – art can be a mixture of things – art can have different
meanings and different points of view – art can be made by anyone and still be
just as important as anyone else’s - (aka: pluralism & diversity). Art in
postmodernism is not just for elitists and men it is for everyone. References
the video we watched in class, “Art is whatever the f*** you want it to be”
(unknown guy from video). Where modernism was optimistic, postmodernism was
uncertain – and that is okay. According to Smithsonian.com, it’s article
entitle “Ask an Expert: What is the difference between modern and postmodern
art?”, there was a quote that caught my eye. “In this post-war generation, there is this trend,
in a way, toward democratizing art” – which is an interesting way to look at
postmodern art. Here is the link to the interesting Smithsonian article.
An example of a female
postmodernism artist is Cindy Sherman. She was also an artist whom when turned
to photography focused primarily on female roles and personas. She challenged
female sexuality while bringing to light that there is much that is fake that
contributes to these “desirable” pictures of women – like heavy makeup,
lighting, etc.
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| Untitled #96 - Cindy Sherman |
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| Untitled Film Still #2 |
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Even after all of these years - we are still not where we want to be and I believe that art like this is necessary - I also believe this to be postmodernism because they are using a different kind of art to convey a message and prove a point --- Guerrilla Girls, displaying here that the gender balance in galleries is still far off from where we should/need to be.
Works Cited
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ask-an-expert-what-is-the-difference-between-modern-and-postmodern-art-87883230/
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-rise-of-modernism/
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