Modernism and Postmodernism

Sylwia Chmielowska

Professor Doris Cacoilo

Art and Women

April 11, 2019

Modernism and Postmodernism

During the 20th century, there was a shift in Western art and lots of “isms” and movements began spreading rapidly. All of these “isms” (ex. Cubism, impressionism, futurism, surrealism, dada-ism etc.) were called “modernism” (Guerilla Girls 59). During this time abstraction also became a big focus and many artists focused on crafts. This was a time where many artists denounced the typical styles and themes. This allowed them to be more expressive and experiment more with new ideas, techniques, and themes. The main objective of this movement was to take initiative and change the limitations and ideas of the past. Essentially, it denoted the philosophy of art during that time and of the past. It is based on a linear concept, which means this movement believes that art will continuously improve and prosper. Since this movement follows this concept, these artists remain hopeful and optimistic about the future of art. The artwork that came out of this time period was a response to all the war and industrialization that occured in the past few decades. During this time period, machinery and such advancements were of importance, and artists wanted to showcase these advancements and changes.

During modernism, many women portrayed “the new woman” which was a term coined by the Germans. This “new woman” was able to be independent, work, vote, smoke, and wear whatever she pleased and made her feel confident (Guerilla Girls 66). Women began to have more freedom, however, this does not mean that all men adjusted their old/traditional views of women. Regardless of this “new found freedom”, women were still expected to perform their gender roles and norms (Chadwick 278). Hence, modernism was a chance for these women to challenge these opinions and views of women’s role in society. Many women focused their work on the female body and the “female” gaze. They would feature a woman and not sexualize her like men traditionally would. In the 19th century, females who wanted to become artists had a better chance to start their career in Russia (Guerilla Girls 64). During communism, women finally were granted equal rights which gave them a lot more freedom than other women in the world (which includes the right to divorce, maternity leave, right to abortion, etc.).

One of the popular styles during modernism was dada-ism. Hannah Hoch was the “mama of dada”. The Guerilla Girls stated, “This movement challenged many conventions (except male supremacy) and the bourgeois society”(66). The Dadas did not want to include any females, but once she presented them with a skit about a man freaking out when asked to do a house chore, they let her in. She used a lot of media pieces in her artwork (which she pioneered and it was called photomontages) and featured the “new woman” in her pieces. Her husband stated that it would be best if she would give him a child and let him continue being an artist and genius. As many men during this time period, her husband had the privilege of claiming he was a genius and could spend all his time painting. She wanted to leave him and began dating a woman. She began having more artwork with more androgynous figures and featuring homosexual couples. Her contributions to dada-ism were mostly seen after the movement died down and this shows how women were never given the proper credit.

Hannah Hoch, The Kitchen Knife Cuts Through Germany’s First Weimar Beer Belly Culture, 1919. This piece shows that Hoch uses mass media (photomontages) to convey her opinion. She is trying to critique the German government. She layers all the images together to show all the issues going on currently around her. Hoch also wants to make it clear that this piece is part of the Dada movement.

Another significant artist that contributed to modernism was Frida Kahlo. She created numerous surrealist pieces, however, Frida claimed these images were her reality. Her artwork was about all of her personal and heartbreaking experiences. Chadwick mentioned, “For Kahlo, as for other women artists associated with the Surrealists, painting became a means for sustaining a dialogue with inner reality. Surrealism sanctioned personal exploration for men and women …” (315). Her artwork shows the fear and anxiety she went through her pregnancy, her love for Diego, and the physical pain she endured.

Frida Kahlo, Henry Ford Hospital, 1932. This artwork shows the traumatic experience Kahlo went through when she had a miscarriage. It shows all the stages of what she went through that day. All six symbols represent something significant from that day. For example, the snail represent how slow the operation was and the orchid represents her uterus.

One woman who made significant contributions to this movement was Sonia Terk Delaunay. During her marriage, she worked with her husband. Together they created a theory of color, which is known as simultanism (Guerilla Girls 60). Unfortunately, her husband received most of the credit for their work and had the privilege of spending all his time painting. He was the male so he was the one that was perceived as a genius. Even during this time the white male artist has the most privilege and painting is the highest form of art. On the other hand, Sonia devoted her time to raise her son and earn a living for her family (reason why she had a gap in her painting career). Using this style of simultanism, she created lots of clothing, furniture, sets that fit this theme and eventually opened up a boutique with all her work. Her simultaneous dresses received a lot of attention and it showed that clothing was significant in modernism. The body of the woman wearing the dress was just as important during this time. There was more focus on the woman and not sexualizing her body. Her husband’s work did not evolve much and Sonia’s work was the opposite. Modernism placed an emphasis on innovation, which is exactly what Sonia Terk Delaunay did. She constantly tried new things and see how her work can have an impact on the world around her.

Prismes Isotiques, Sonia Delaunay. Her piece has a lot of color and shows the effect of placing different colors next to each other (she manipulates the colors). She uses many geometric and abstract shapes. This painting shows the connection she makes between life and her artwork. https://www.theartstory.org/artist-delaunay-sonia-artworks.htm This link explains the inspiration of the piece and shows other artwork by Sonia.

Suzanne Valadon was one of the artists during her time that mainly focused on the female nude. Chadwick stated, “Their paintings collude with, and challenge, narratives that construct female identity, through connections to nature, and that view women as controlled by emotions, sexual instincts, and biology (282). Prior to her career in art, Valadon was a model for multiple artists in Paris. Since she did not have much formal education, this previous job of a model helped her created relationships with other artists and get her foot in the art world. Since she was a model previously, she also knew how she wanted her models portrayed. Chadwick stated, “... she emphasizes the awkward gestures of figures apparently in control of their own movements” (285). Hence, she makes her models look comfortable and natural. Many nude models are painted as perfect and give the impression that it is impossible to ever look like that. Valadon does the complete opposite and she challenges these themes in past artwork. She usually had her women pictured in everyday life and a good example of this is her piece of the young girl taking a bath. The model is completely nude, but there is nothing sexual about it. She is very innocent and simply taking a bath.

Suzanne Valadon, “The Blues Room”, 1923. This painting shows the woman in a very natural setting and does not try to impress anyone. Her comfort is more important than her image. It shows her natural figure and Valadon does not try to make her look perfect. She is smoking a cigarette which shows that she is a “new woman” who is free to smoke. Valadon does not sexualize the woman and this painting is not for the “male gaze”, instead it is for the “female gaze”. https://www.longwharf.org/who-was-suzanne-valadon-my-paris/ this link provides more background on the artist and her other artwork.

During this time period, many artists used different mediums and performances to express their views. Within this movement, body art and using media was something new and become popular. One positive attributes of art performances is that the audience feels more included in the performance/act and it feels more personal. Postmodernism addresses all different art forms and all of them are equal. Modernism stressed that painting is the highest form of art and postmodernism emphasizes that any artwork by anyone is important and places emphasis on pluralism.

Postmodernism began in the mid 1970’s and this movement questions and contradicts modernism. In many aspects, postmodernism opposed the concepts, views, and traditions of modernism. During this time period, this movement wanted to force people in society to question the world and society they live in. Unlike modernism, this movement wanted art to be for everyone (the masses) and not just for the elites. Artists that were part of postmodernism movement knew that their artwork can make a difference and at least spark a conversation. Chadwick mentions how postmodernism did not create new styles, instead focused on the issues that already exist: “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” (360).

A postmodernism artist that used older pictures, in order to show the socialization of gender identity was Cindy Sherman. Sherman wants to show that gender identity is not stable and it can be fluid. Society places labels and boxes, when in reality many things are too complex to be placed in very specific spaces. Chadwick stated, “Cindy Sherman’s photographs reveal the instability of gender, and challenge the idea that there might be an innate, unmedicated female sexuality” (383). She uses photography to show that the audience does not have the entire backstory, however, they might have predispositions or judge the moment that was captured. She also shows how art is everywhere and how it is not only for the elites. She takes styles and looks from the 50’s and 60’s, and tries to capture simple moments.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #53, 1979. Sherman named many of these photographs untitled to make it seem like they were still from a movie. This shot could be from her loft and these photographs were created with mostly her wardrobe and makeup. By not having a descriptive title, she leaves the interpretation to the audience. She took 69 different photographs of things she saw in films, advertisement, or magazines. The photographs are from everyday, average life. This photograph is in the moment and was not created for the intent to be sexualized.

Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 5th ed., 1992.

Guerilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin, 1998.