Nikki Ford
Art and Women
Modernism is based on the principles of formalism and independence.
Another important characteristic of modernism is its disapproval to all
traditional forms of art and culture. Generally, modernism is regarded as a
kind of avant-garde, which encounters traditional culture. Initially it was considered
as a force, which could oppose the dominant culture. Traditional examples of
modernism in art. These studies correspond to all ideals declared by
modernistic artists. Individualism and deep mission for inner self makes
modernist authors turn to the depths of human conscious. The study of stream of realization, which is popular in Guerrilla
girls and Chadwick. “The emergence of a self-conscious set of practices and characteristics
through which the modern in art is understood developed gradually and coincided
with the appearance of a first generation of women artists with more or less
equal access to artistic training. However, the related notion of an “avant-garde”
as the dominant ideology of artist as surely as did the guilds in the fifteenth
century, and the academies in the seventeenth and eighteenth.”
For European
society, the 18th century became the century of innovations and technical
progress. During this period the very concept of relations between man and
nature had changed and this naturally led to changes in the forms of art and
culture. During the period of Enlightenment, separation between man and nature
appeared and this duality was conveyed to many spheres of human life. The
development of science made man a more independent creature and let him
increase the understanding of human experience and natural forces. “By the
first decade of the twentieth century, dandyism and Modernism had intersected
in those men and women whose sexual lives also had a life in their art, and the
cross-dressed figure of the woman artist had gained particular currency. At an historical
moment when radical feminist were advocating “androgyny,” and designers like
Coco Chanel were “masculinizing” women’s fashions, the “new look” also began to
make its presence felt in the visual arts. In 1918, Alfred Stieglitz
photographed Georgia O’Keeffe’s pale face and hooded eyes emerging from the
inky darkness of a black bowler hate and high-necked coat. Sexual ambiguity
also defined O’Keeffe’s modernity; like Brooks and her circle, the American
painter has adopted a wardrobe of simple and elegantly tailored black-and-white
costumes which she would wear for the rest of her life.” (Chadwick,
p. 302)
Valadon and Modersohn-Becker were two of the first women artists to express their
art with the nude female form. This was considered a huge stepping stone for
European women artist in this modern time. Sonia
Delaunay helped make build abstract art. She was known for her bold use of
patterns using color. “Delaunay’s work with textiles and embroidery encouraged
her to break down forms and emphasize surface structure” (Chadwick, p. 261)
Postmodernism is a kind of art that
appeared in the middle of the 1980s. It’s difficult to define this concept
because it is presented in architecture, sociology, art, music, film,
technology and some other areas and it’s not always clear when postmodernism
begins in this or that area. Defining and analyzing postmodernism starts from
modernism because postmodernism originates exactly from it. Modernism appeared earlier
and can be defined from two points of view. According to the first aspect
modernism originates from the aesthetic movement of the twentieth century, the
ideas of which are similar to Western ideas about art. The main characteristics
of modernism are no difference between “high” and “low” kinds of art because
every art is aimed to depict the reality. This also includes importance on
inner feelings and the process of perception. For example, modernism presents
human life and human subjectivity in fragments and as something tragic and
mournful. The idea of fragmentation of the life prevails and this idea is
depicted with sadness and grief. According to modernism, works of art can
present the world in unity, while this unity is lost in the real life. In
contrast, postmodernism depicts the idea of world fragmentation with enthusiasm
and optimism, the world is meaningless and the art can do nothing to change
this, the only thing that is left is to depict this world with irony and
satire. Postmodernists define subjectivism of modernism literature as
existential crisis and try to avoid it. Narrators deconstruct themselves and
they do it consciously. Surrealism
movement originated in the early ’20s and late 1910’s as a legendary movement that trailed with a new style of
expression known as automatic writing, which pursued to release the unrestrained thoughts of the subconscious.
The
intellectual and illogical views of Surrealism indeed find their lineage in the
clever and fanciful disregard for custom promoted
by Dadaism years earlier.
Generally, Modernism is a movement in art, music, architecture, literature
and technique in the United States and Europe in the 19th- 20th century, which
appeared as a protest to the outdated esthetic culture. Modernism gave people a
new way to contact with the reality and man became the master of this reality.
Art became more personal and artists were in the center of attention. The last
half of the 20th century is characterized by the failure of modernist propensities.
This later led Modernism to be replaced by postmodernism. Postmodernism is
characterized by the search of new forms to reflect the reality, deeper
penetration in the inner world and replication of the inner thoughts and
feelings of rejection. Any movement in literature, art or music is the
reflection of social, economic and political sphere of the society and
postmodernism is the reflection of our period.
Work cited
The Guerilla Girls, The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the
History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016
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