Post 3 - Modernism / Postmodernism

     Modernism refers to the movement from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century where artists such as writers, painters, crafters, and filmmakers produced pieces that were meant to reflect the modern industrial time of the period. Times were changing and so were the intentions of the artist at the time, and they wanted to allow their creativeness to reflect all those things that were also changing. Many artists were able to take advantage of the industrial developments during the time and create pieces that told stories about those things. These pieces varied from political, cultural, and social changes and the objective of Modernism art was to allow historical art to remain history and make room for new techniques and styles to be introduced into the artistic world. Some of this art was introduced to make it seem more realistic instead of just two dimensional. Artists would also incorporate photography into the world of art and to showcase discrimination of the oppressed. Although often disregarded, women played a significant and necessary role during Modernism by describing the issues of female life in that society through their art. The introduction of women artist during the Modernism period is powerful because, through different techniques such as live performances, film, and photography, women were able to finally show people a visual representation of how they felt in a misogynistic society and how they are not satisfied with the gender stereotypes placed continuously on them.

     One of the artists during the time who broke the rules of complementary colors and color contrast was Sonia Delaunay. Sonia used different shapes and colors in her paintings to allow her audience to understand that art was more than just following rules and new forms of paintings to explain abstracts should be accepted. Her famous painting, Simultaneous Contrasts was so new and fresh in the art world that people were confused whether it should be hung vertical or horizontal. This confusion introduced an open-mindedness to the art world. Many people even call this painting one of the first paintings that entered abstract art. Since her technique was unorthodox, it was refreshing to see such different shapes and colors interact with each other to convey a strong message about the countless things you can do with art.

Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Contrast 1912

     Women during Modernism also wanted to give messages about how they feel about their sexuality, and how they can own the female nude in a way that does not objectify them for their bodies but appreciates them. Suzanne Valadon paints The Blue Room which is a very powerful piece with lots of feministic messages. The model in the painting is comfortable in her own body and owns her imperfections not to satisfy a man’s mind, but to simply live her life in her own skin. Her painting displays a woman in a natural setting, and her gaze is not towards the viewer but away, showing that she has her reasons to be lounging that has nothing to do with anyone else. Compared to the paintings during the Renaissance period, The Blue Room has more control of herself and is confident in her being there. This painting is a perfect perception of the modern woman.

Suzanne Valadon The Blue Room 1923

    Postmodernism was a period that followed directly after Modernism where artists focused on topics that had no definite meaning, and their pieces were meant to express whatever the individual decides to interpret it as. They were controversial, and Postmodernism pushed for a society to question the culture that they are in, and continuously challenge it. Postmodernism art encouraged people to find their truth through the art that they saw even if it is not conventional to the standards of the time. Women during this time made it a priority to allow themselves to be also be heard since the world still revolved around the messages men were making about Postmodernism and it is important to recognize that women played a significant role in the creation of fantastic pieces.

    A very famous performance art during this time was by Yoko Ono called Cut Piece. In this piece, she asked the audience in front of her to approach her and cut off part of her shirt if they were willing to with a pair of scissors. Many people in the audience obliged and did exactly that, while one man even cut off the straps of her bra. The purpose of cut piece was subjective to the audience to interpret it any way that they wished since Yoko was silent the entire performance, but there was no doubt that this performance said a lot about gender, materialism, and even sexual violence/ predatory behavior. 

Yoko Ono, Cut Piece 1964 

   
        One of the most discussed pieces during Postmodern times was My Bed by Tracey Emin. Emin's piece spoke to audiences in numerous ways about the mental health of a woman and what often appears behind the scenes of women who may look well put together but that is suffering from mental illnesses. Society has this perception that women should be clean cut at all times and look presentable but Emin showcases the reality of a woman's world through all the things she keeps on public display.

My Bed Tracey Emin 1998 

Cindy Sherman used photography to capture women to deliver powerful messages. Although this was painted in the 1970s, Sherman’s photograph depicts abusive households in the 1950s and the pain women are forced to go through while silenced. The image is disturbing and can easily make a viewer uncomfortable but that is supposed to be the point. Her message about domestic violence is shown and clear to her desired audience.

Works 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

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/postmodernism

This link gives an introduction to Postmodernism and the faces of postmodernism.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism

This link gives a description of modernism and the faces of modernism and how it was introduced during the time period.