Modernism + Postmodernism

When referring to art, Modernism is the amalgamation of several new movements and “isms” that come about in the late 1800s and well into the 1900s. In a broad sense, the term refers to work and subjects that reflect the rapidly industrializing landscape of the 19th and 20th centuries. Because science, technology, culture, and other societal pillars evolve at such a rapid pace during this period, the movement encapsulates the overwhelming feelings of vicissitude and of dissatisfaction with the classical, largely European ideals that dominate much of history up until this point. As such, groups all over the world choose to experiment with their work and women begin to force their way into spaces once clung to by only cis straight white men.

The early days and “isms” of Modernism have their roots in European women reforming clothing and prioritizing what is often negatively referred to as "arts and crafts". Starting in 1863, fashion becomes a crucial medium for defining what is considered "modern". Poet Blaise Cendrar says in 1913 that “On her dress she wears her body”, which suggests the female body itself is an important signifier for modernity (Chadwick 262). And, because the focus on updating women's dress is "one aspect of wider feminist concerns...a shift from earlier notions of clothing as indicating class and occupation to a more modern preoccupation with clothing as a means of creating identity', there is a visible upward trend toward widespread feminism and an exploration of individual identity, beginning with something as simple as clothes (Chadwick 254). Two central figures at the core of this phenomenon are Varvara Stepanova and Sonia Delaunay. 

Varvara Stepanova, Designs for Sports Clothing (1923)

Stepanova, a Russian artist who works into the mid-1900s, has ties to Productivism, the belief that "art should be practiced as a trade and that the production of well-designed articles for everyday use [is[ of far greater value than individual expression or experiment" (Chadwick 269). This movement develops directly from the creation of factories and the expansion of mass production. Textile design combines both the artistic and technological sides of mass production and is one way traditionally feminine art forms become popular. The work of Sophie Taeuber-Arp, a professor of Textile Design and Techniques at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich from 1916-1929, explores color and form, and she maintains that there is "little distinction between ornamentation and 'high art' when the 'wish to produce beautiful things—when that wish is true and profound—falls together with striving for perfection'” (Chadwick 271). Sonia Delaunay is another Russian artist whose work in design -- though her focus often changes back from home goods and book covers to textiles and embroidery -- is pivotal for movements such as the Abstract Expressionism of the 1940s. 

Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Contrasts (1912) 

Georgia O'Keeffe, Yellow Calla (1926)

Ana Mendieta, Silueta Works in Mexico (1973-77)

Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1975)

Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art and Society. 5th ed., Thames and Hudson, 2012.

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

“History of Modernism.” History of Modernism, Miami Dade College,

www.mdc.edu/wolfson/academic/artsletters/art_philosophy/humanities/history_of_modernism.htm.

Shields, Kate. “Women, Modernism and Postmodernism.” Medium, Medium, 5 Jan. 2017,

medium.com/@kate_shields/women-modernism-and-postmodernism-6ed84a00605e.