Modernism wanted to overthrow the conventions of the past. Thinking of art as progressing in a linear manner, they wanted to reach the point where they reached art at its purest form. At its heart, modernism was part of the world's reaction to all the wars and industrialization that occurred within such a short period of time. With society's rapid movement into mechanical reproduction, art began to change its form. Since businesses began to rely on machinery more and more, people wanted to emphasize the craft that comes with constructing and creating products. Present in clothing designs, the transition into utilizing geometric shapes and patterns, which represented the modern times, became quite popular. Take the work of Sonia Delaunay, a painter and designer who loved using contrasting colors. Her dresses included "patterns of abstract forms [that] were arranged both to enhance the natural movement of the body and to establish a shimmering movement of color... [the remark that]'on her dress she wears her body' suggests that the female body itself was being perceived as a symbol for modernity" (Chadwick 262). Delving into fashion, her work greatly inspired and defined abstract art while simultaneously creating a space where women artists could be respected.
Sonia Delaunay was also extremely significant in progressing the dada movement. Seeing as people began to see that "art should be practiced as a trade and that the production of well-designed articles for everyday use was of far greater value than individual expression," art became a commodity. (Chadwick 269). Delaunay's popularity grew as people wanted to transition out of the dreary clothes worn during the war. Instead of seeing clothes as something that covers the body, they began to see the body as an entity that was constantly changing (Chadwick 274). The dada movement wanted to take a step away from plain paintings into something that would connect to all the new changes the world was undergoing. In doing so, they constructed a new market for what they called the modern woman, a consumer who was given more liberties than she had before the war. Rather than limiting their audience, Sonia Delaunay advertised to the everyday girl who was not a part of the elite class.
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| Sonia Delaunay, applique coat, 1920s - Unlike previous pieces made for women, this coat is filled with geometric shapes while also covering most of the women's body. In this time period, girls did not necessarily care about showing off their figure. Rather, flapper girls' straight style dresses were meant to show the change into modern women, something that Delaunay definitely helped to progress. |
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| Frida Kahlo's The Broken Column, 1944 |
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| Kathe Kollwitz's The Weaver's Revolt - Kathe was inspired by women and often depicted the role of mother and child in her work. Often labelled as propaganda by critics, this piece spoke about the revolt of Silesian weavers in the mid 1800s. |
While modernism strongly emphasized seeking art that was greater than anything that had been seen before, postmodernism did not see things in the same manner. Rather than thinking of art as something that was solely for the elite class, postmodernists wanted to detach themselves from such stringent notions of who art was made for. Art does not have to be formal in order to be taken seriously. Instead, it can be playful, expressive, and appeal to anyone. As a form, smaller movements like minimalism began to grow in popularity as they strayed away from things like painting elaborate scenes or portraits. Challenging the notions of what it means to be an artists, postmodernism was full of contradictions and distinct perspectives coming together to create pieces that were unique.
Even more political than the movement prior to it, postmodernism was firmly a feminist movement. Set during the Civil Rights movement in the Unites States, there was a big push for change in the country. Rather than being a static form, performance art like Cut Piece by Yoko Ono show the huge strides artists were making in terms of how they convey their work. Yoko sat in a chair and allowed audience members to come up and cut any piece of clothing of hers that they wanted. While at the beginning people were hesitant to come up to her, the lack of boundaries grew as she sat motionless. Objectifying her, at the end of her performance a man actually felt free enough to cut off her bra. Stressing the violence against women, the results of her piece spoke highly of the circumstances women were consistently confronted with.
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| Yoko On, Cut Piece, 1964 - The audience's shift from hesitancy into a mode where they felt like they were free enough to cut off her undergarments is appalling. |
Marina Abramovic and Ulay followed the same style when they exhibited a piece called Imponderabilia. In order to walk into another exhibition at the MoMa, visitors had to walk through a doorway between Marina and her partner. Unafraid of being vulnerable, both artists were nude as they stood stoically between the doorway. While this may seem pointless to some, it was actually interesting to see which way people would instinctively face while trying to pass through. Since society depicts girls as more fragile or less likely to attack, most people were inclined to turn toward Marina. Thus, this piece was very much interesting commentary on people's inner thoughts about gender and what that means in terms of power.
Overall postmodernism and modernism were very much responses to the injustices that occurred all over the world. Bringing to light ideas about status and the inequality of power between males and females, art of this time period exhibited the unfortunate truths people could no longer deny. As we enter into the modern world today, it's interesting to see that such issues are still prevalent years later. If anything, these two movements serve as reminders of all that we still have to achieve in the decades to come.
Works Cited
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 5th ed. Thames & Hudson Inc., 2016
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