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ART SUMMARY What is Modern Art?  Modernism (1860’s – 1970’s)  intro of rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, technology, known as Industrialisation.  Occurred through the 2 world wars and industrial revolution  Affected social, economic, cultural roles of society across globe - This allowed worldview of individuals and society to be expanded as well as called for opportunity to showcase new ideas  Artists able to travel  able to see new ideas, artefacts from non-western cultures (Japanese, African)  Changed way many artists approached art  broke restrictive, traditional religious based works to depicting art about simplistic views of life or ideas that interested the artist  Avant garde (advanced guard): anything that challenges the traditional arts, take their work in new, unexpected and modern directions  The invention of photography in the 1830s introduced a new method for depicting and reinterpreting the world Key characterisitics:  Use of symbolism, dreams, personal iconography and an interest in the subjective experience as a way of interpreting their world  Expressive use of colour  Non-traditional mediums and new techniques  Distortion of form  Combining multiple perspectives  Ambiguity

Impressionism Background:  Developed in Paris in 1860’s  1st distinct modern art movement  group of artists formed together  ‘The Impressionists’ - rejected the fine finish and detail that became an exemplar for artists during the time Influences, Approaches & Characteristics  strong focus on landscape and painting ‘en plain air’  pure intense colours  criticised for its unfinished appearance and lack of quality achieved through short brushstrokes (broken colour)  paintings of landscape was the artists’ personal impressions  smaller canvases for easier portability  light coloured ground (base coat)  concerned with painting landscapes, everyday life and people at leisure  interested in effects of light and time and how it could shift people’s perceptions

Impressionist Artist: Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)  grew up during modernization of Paris  influenced the way people socialized  interested in expressing Parisian modernity and leisure activities  focused on intensity of colour, composition and depth which reflects the rich & flamboyant atmosphere the modernised Paris brought

Artworks: “Luncheon of the Boating Party 1881”  depicts the social setting on a sunny day, offering an intimate peek into the lives of French people  reflects the changing character of the French society in the mid to late 19th century where the new modern Parisian society developed into a more diverse group  women, businessmen, actresses and writers all interacted in the same public sphere  vibrant and bright colours suggest a sunny day and contrasting colours of blue and green with warmer tones of red and yellows.  Depth explored within the figures which gives the appearance of a three-dimensional effect - use of facial expressions and gestures of the Parisians create the illusion of movement - sense of space achieved through the overlapping bodies  light depicted through the white singlets, worn by the men and the tablecloth, conveying a relaxed and informal atmosphere.  combination of modernity and tradition - ‘traditional’ rendering of the figures, including its use of accurate proportion and being realistic - landscape demonstrates the Impressionistic rendering of blurred edges and broken colour.  demonstrates the progression of art, where the traditional biblical and mythological references are rejected through the expression of Parisian life “Bal du Moulin de Galette 1876”  vivacious and joyful atmosphere of a popular dance garden on the Butte Montmartre  demonstrates Renoir’s style in capturing the ‘moment’ and leisure activities of Parisians  colour palette  vibrant, bright  depicts movement through brushstrokes  places crowd in natural and artificial light  adds shadows, light, vibrancy to composition  patches of soft colour  pinks, purples incorporated with the figures (bolder shades  blues, red, greens), gives impression of speckled light beaming through trees

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- gives work cheerful, relaxed impression and sense of immediacy rejection of black paint and absence of outlines

Other artist: Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet (effects of light, time, perceptive) Post Impressionists Background:  1880 – 1920  predominantly paintings  describes combined effects of works of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Seurat (pointillism) and Gauguin  all worked independently with personal styles  Van Gogh and Gauguin  explored expressive properties of colour  Cezanne and Serat interested in elements of composition and picture plane Characterisitics:  rejects and modifies shallow ideas of impressionism  new ideas about purpose of art and beginnings of individual’s personal style  strong use of colour  symbolism  influence on later movements  fauvism, expressionism, cubism, etc Artist: Paul Cezanne (1839 – 1906)  analytical, structured approach  Parisian artist  Aim to express form and volume  Changed viewpoints to lead viewer around form  Used colour not tone to show 3D Works:  “The basket of apples (1890 – 94)”

Van gogh  Distorted and exaggerated colours and forms in nature to express what he felt “Starry Night 1889”

Fauvism (1905-08) Background:  Movement in Paris

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Got name from “Fauves” (wild beasts)  due to the uninhibited verve, bold colour and wild abandon of traditional painting disciplines

Characteristics:  Interested in pictorial pure colours (inspired by post expressionists)  Simplistic use of form, expression, saturated, vibrant colour  Spontaneous approach  Use of unnatural colour that separated colour from its usual representational and realistic role, giving new emotional mood, structure  Bold brush strokes, using paint from tube instead of mixing  Individual expression  artist’s emotions, experiences  Subject matter  landscapes, still life, portraits  Shocked public by how they chose to paint it Artist Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) Works: “Woman with a hat (1905)”

Cubism (1907 – 1916  20th century) Background:  dominant modernist art movement, inspired by Paul Cezanne’s later works  expanded new ideas and techniques of the changing world, where tensions between European countries appeared, evoking fear for war  new approach in representing reality brought, collectively, works of different subjects  abstract approach through its broken and harsh shapes  three distinct phases: Early Period, Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism  influence of Impressionism in early cubist works  landscape depicted through sharp-edged planes Characteristics:  analytical cubism - dull colour – browns, greys, greens - 3D – broken faceted structure (poly-ocular) - focus on form  angularised forms  synthetic Cubism - mixed media - collage of ideas, materials and images - subject matter  exclusively still life - brighter colour - replicates image of a collage into a painting Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973)

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‘father’ of cubism  brought new innovations which changed attitudes towards perspective and form in space in art evolved art, introducing symbolism and surrealism which would later influence other art movements

more on his world??? Artworks: “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (1907)  levels of fragmentation and abstraction, allowing a polyocular perspective  retains the traditions of nudists in paintings, he challenged the Parisian audience through subjecting the women as ‘prostitutes’ with their overly-sexual and assertive postures  influence of Iberian and tribal art faces of the women, masking the women’s identity - objectifies the women reflects values of a patriarchal society that was prevalent during the 20th century.  spatial experiments through the abandonment of traditional forms of figures by introducing a broken fractured structure developed by geometric shapes - tensions between the European countries, demonstrating the ‘broken’ ties - also allows various perspectives of the women to be viewed  dull colours of browns and greys to enhance the focus on form rather than colour (analytical cubism) “Guitar (1913)”  guitar is fractured  abstracted image as if it is seen from multiple viewpoints  segments of are cut from variety of materials  old wall paper, scrap of cardboard, newspaper - different patterns and textures contrast and compliment each other  pulls audiences’ eye in different directions  shows break away from traditional mediums  uses elements from the real world to depict real world  shows the emerging new world Expressionism (1905 – 1925) Background:  began with literature in 20th C  distortion and exaggeration  emotional effect  no one style  relied on artist’s subjective views/experiences through chosen medium  there were 2 main German-based groups - Die Brucke (The Bridge) Group (1905 – 1912) - Der Blau Reiter (The Blue Rider) (1911 – 1914) Characteristics

Die Brucke:  Strong exaggerated human forms – distortion of form  Violent imagery, emotional tension and vivid colour  Passion for printmaking, particularly, woodcutting  Influenced by philosopher (Nietzche)  humanity is in state of flux – bridge between reality and idea fulfilment of desired reality (constant want to improve) Der Blaue Reiter:  Faced rapid changing German industrialisation  art became more spiritual  Expressed emotion Shared characteristics:  depicted spiritual truths  promoted modern art  connection between art and music  spiritual, symbolic associations with colour  spontaneous, intuitive approach  interest in European Medieval Art, contemporary non-figurative art  move towards Abstraction Artists  Max Beckmann  Otto Dix Examples:

Futurism (1909 – 16) Background:  Originated in Italy  Despised “the old”, esp. political and artistic traditions  Embraced speed, technology, youth, violence, industrial city – all that “represented the triumph of humanity over nature” Characteristics:

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Interests came from the speed and glorification of war Figurative glorification of technology and change Compositions full of movement and speed Strong lines Use of repetition Jagged shapes Use of complementary colours (heightened colour)  emphasis on colour Distortion of perspective  complexity Subject matter  urban scene and vehicles in motion

Artists:  Umberto Boccioni  Giacomo Balla Artworks:

Dada (1916 – 1923) Background:  occurred during WWI  Outpour of rage, anger, fear  Industrial revolution making warfare more traumatic  more power, more speed Characteristics:  mocked and challenged contemporary art and traditional art forms/values in all forms of art from painting to poetry  reflects attitudes of cynicism towards social values and protested against Western society’s nationalist and colonialist interests  used unconventional methods and form  destroy traditional culture and aesthetics through rejecting them – embraced “readymades”  “Dada is the groundwork to abstract art and sound poetry…” – Francis Picabia  irony, politics, response to atrocities of WWI, questioned accepted social values  embraced new materials, strategies and forms Artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)  grew up within the bourgeois class

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bourgeois class  significantly increased due to industrialisation works demonstrates interests in gender fluidity, mechanisms of desire and wordplay “readymades”  demonstrates the Dada movement of rejecting everything ‘art’

Artworks: “L.H.O.O.Q” (1919)  one of his ‘Readymades’ works which reproduces, Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” on a postcard  places a moustache and goatee over Mona Lisa’s upper lip and chin as well as re-titling the work  explores gender fluidity, by giving Mona masculine physicality  androgynous nature of creativity  challenges the audience  explores the utilisation of concepts of art and how this can greatly impact the way people view art “The Large Glass” (1915-1923)  use of puns (double meaning)  artwork that can be visually experienced and “read” as a text  work depicts an abstracted “bride” being attacked by machine-like figures in chaotic motion  uses new materials and approaches  image assembled on glass surface using wire, foil, glue and varnish  the accidental cracked glass gives the artwork an authentic and different way of expressing art

SURREALISM (1924 – 1944) Background:  In Germany Characteristics:  explored dreams (disjointed), the unconscious, the element of chance and multiple levels of reality  dreams and subconscious  influenced by Freud  reaction to WW1  juxtaposition  reversal of natural laws  impossible scale Artists:  Salvador Dali  Frida Kahlo  Rene Magritte

Works:

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM (mid 1940’s – early 1960’s) Background:  Applied paint rapidly, with force to hug canvases to show feelings and emotions  Expressed subconscious in non-figurative way with non-identifiable subject matter Characteristics:  No figurative content  2 techniques: - Action Painting  spontaneously, dripped, splashed or smeared onto canvas o Artists – Jackson Pollock

Colour field  wide flat planes of colour fills whole canvas; colour being subject matter o Colour field  calm, cool and rational; created pure emotion as no real substance in subject matter; audience is immersed in colour o Artist: Mark Rothko -

OP ART (1960’s) Background: Created optical illusion of movement on painted surface by:  Focused on hand painted repetitive geometric designs and patterns/colour  Precision; carefully wrought hard edges  Relates to perceptual experience and how vision scientifically functions Characteristics:  Created effects through line and pattern (often black and white)  Deliberate heightening contrasting colours  simultaneous, successive or reverse contrast Artists:  Victor Vasarely  Julian Stanczak

POP ART (mid 1950’s – early 1970’s) Background:  Emerged in Britain during mid 1950’s and gained momentum in America in 1960s  Based on popular culture and mass media - Reflects current values of society/culture - Inspired by everyday objects, idea of “commodity”, mas production, advertising, comic strips, labels, logos  Followed Dada  utilized found objects  Celebration to post-war life, mainstream commercial culture and dissolution of barrier between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art

Characteristics:  Questions art as a commodity and a unique art form; commercialism  Everyday subject matter  engages and relates to audience more  Marked by  - Clear lines, - Bold colours - Sharp paintwork - Representations of symbols, objects, people common in pop culture Artist: Andy Warhol (1928 – 87)  Interested in commercialism  Famous for his appropriation of mass produced everyday goods and reproducing them in mass- produced artform  Silkscreen printing  Use of irony  Mass produced photographic portraits mirrored the idea of Hollywood stars as commodities for the masses human products to be consumed Works:

“Campbell’s Soup Cans 1962”  Cans  represent the 32 varieties that Campbell's sold at the time.  cans are displayed in a way that is similar to the shelves on a grocery store - a symbol of American abundance and our expectations as consumers that each can of soup will taste the same because of its brand....