An Examination of Modernism with Reference to Several Works of Art

Two sculptures, among others, lie in the outskirts of the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden at UCLA. One of them, The Walking Man, is a bronze sculpture created by French sculptor Auguste Rodin in 1905. The other, made more than 100 years later, is T.E.U.C.L.A., a large scale steel sculpture made by minimalist sculptor Richard Serra. Although it may seem like these works have more differences than similarities, both emphasize the processes of their creation and are major movements away from the classical tradition of sculpture. However, The Walking Man and T.E.U.C.L.A. also differ in several aspects that reflect their respective artists’ personal portrayals of modern sculpture. These aspects include: mode of production, composition and the arrangement of volumes, the play of light and shadow, and visual experience. Together these elements of formal organization work together to convey meaning in both of these works. Rodin’s deliberate rejection of refinement and disregard for the direct translation of the unformed to formed in The Walking Man represent the process and spontaneity of reality, while Serra’s use of curvature and aperture in T.E.U.C.L.A. models the spaces people move through and the perceptive skills they use in life and nature.

During the Interwar Period (1919-1939), many countries around the world underwent many ideological changes. Prior to World War I, imperial competition amongst the European countries led to patterns of constitutional and ethnolinguistic nationalism and patterns of industrialization. Members of a Bosnian Serb nationalist group assassinated Austrian heir Franz Ferdinand, which became the catalyst for the first World War that would last until 1919. With 20 million soldiers and civilians dead and another 21 million wounded, the countries looked for ways to recover from the results of the war. Three new patterns of modernity emerged after World War I; Capitalist democracy, Communism, and Supremist Nationalism.

Literary modernism was a reaction against realism which was developed to depict real rural life (Campbell, 2017). As people begun to relocate to city areas many writers and artist took to redefining the meaning of a realistic life. It was believed that one way of life no longer fit for everyone and modernism introduced literature and art that began to question and show various perspectives of life. Peter Childs explains that “modernist writing “plunges” the reader into confusing and difficult mental landscape which cannot be immediately understood…” (Childs 15). Uncommon poetry and prose stemmed from this modernist development. A popular one being Nella Larsen’s Passing, which encompasses two African American women who are particularly

Going from long skirts and traditions the youth are beginning to radically change our culture creating controversy. This era is where many of our traditions that have never been questioned before are being put to the limits by our growing youth. We used to be a culture of women covering up, planned dates, horses and buggies and everyone attending church. The war is over and everything is changing, so the real question we must ask is, is it actually bad? First of all planned dating and seeming improper to mingle between the sexes is old and does not allow the youth to choose the right person that they want to spend the rest of their life with. Women throughout creation have always been forced to cover up and seem ‘ladylike’ but now the youth are showing that women have the freedom to act as they please. Finally, religion has always been something everyone believes but now with the new theory of evolution we should allow people to choose for themselves what they want. Therefore the youth are not merely destroying our

Vincent Van Gogh, the man who we all know for his story night painting and getting his ear cut off, but there is so much more to him then we even realized. Van Gogh is a part of the Early Modernism period, more specifically he was a part of PostImpressionism. When we look back at the progression of art periods we see that modernism is the start of when classicism begins to diminish. Modernism is the start of moving towards emphasizing movement and different perspectives for color, patterns, forms, lines, specifically in PostImpressionism. It turned away from the Enlightenment views of reason and rationalism, which aspects included modesty, harmony, balance and sense of proportion. Modernism steps away from the classical period of harmony, balance, and subtle earth tones, rather it puts an emphasis on movement and makes the audience think of what is actually being displayed because of the different brush strokes and intense colors used in this time. To understand Van Gogh, we must first understand the time period of which he was in, Modernism.

59. modernism- the movement that is currently in effect. Suzanne Collins is an example of a

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’’ Everyone has their own personal fears but despite the differences in what we fear, we all collectively share one thing. The fear. The dread. And the uncertainty. Even long after the great war was long ended, there was always a sense of uncertainty amongst the people. Doubt and distrust of what is to come feeling betrayed by the governments that overpowered them. This lead to the Modernism Movement, a movement entirely powered by the fear of a next war, driven by the innermost feeling of uncertainty and doubt. The Modernist movement, occurring between the 1920’s and 1960’s, attempted to change existing perceptions of reality as well as undermine and disregard grand narratives such as religion

Thomas Pynchon was born on May 8, 1937. He studied engineering physics and English at Cornell University before taking a job as an engineering aide with the aircraft manufacturer Boeing in 1960. The Crying of Lot 49, his second novel, was published in 1966 amid America’s counterculture movement. The novel’s protagonist, Oedipa, attempts to reinstall some sense of order to her life and to the increasingly disordered American mainstream by doggedly pursuing a conspiracy. Her efforts ultimately prove futile, as America, and by extension the universe, continues to careen towards its fate—a state of complete chaos.

A Japanese postmodern artist Yayoi Kusama, had an art technique of drawing and painting dots. Her art form was influenced by her psychological problems in which she expressed herself in an artistic form of painting dots. Both literature arts and the visual arts uses different techniques to express themselves whether it be modern or postmodern. Postmodern art use a lot of different techniques to express themselves and manipulate the audience in an entirely different way like how Kusama had expressed herself in a different way than artists have previously done before. Postmodernism started after WWII and used a happier and sometimes an ironic tone in their creations. Modernism started in the 20th century and were sometimes difficult to understand the pieces of art and writing. It is the departure of traditional arts and a movement in the arts to create new styles and techniques. The new form of art often causes conflict and sorts of negative reaction to those viewing because of its new art form that questions many people. The new form of art are subjective and creates different reactions that often tends to question what art really is in general. Both modernism and postmodernism uses many of the similar authorial techniques but uses different tones in the writings. Many of the authorial techniques they use are imagism, fragmentation, motifs, mutations, and many other techniques to create an effect.

Modernism was a movement in literature, art, and music that began with the thought that everything there was to be written had already been written. Modernist writers believed that in order to create new works, they needed to create a completely new genre, using new styles of writing. These writers wanted to differentiate themselves from past literary movements, especially those of the Victorian era, dated roughly from 1837 to 1901 (Kirschen). Although Modernism was a collective movement, Modernists came from all different walks of life. Modernists also come together on one important issue, the push to form something new. They felt that in the new time of industrialism, old ideas of traditionalism were becoming quickly outdated. Modernists, in literature at least, were people who wanted to create a new relationship between reader and author. Generally, though, Modernists aimed to create a new form of expression.

Demonstrate your understanding of the context and values of Modernism by close analysis of the techniques and concerns of Modernism that are reflected in one poem and one short story.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, literature changed and focused on breaking away from the typical and predicate patterns of normal literature. Poets at this time took full advantage and stretched the idea of the mind’s conscience on how the world, mind, and language interact and contradict. Many authors, such as Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Twain, used the pain and anguish in first hand experiences to create and depict a new type of literature, modernism. In this time era, literature and art became a larger part of society and impacted more American lives than ever before. During the American modernism period of literature, authors, artists, and poets strived to create pieces of literature and art that

Modernism is just another word for 20th century. It was a movement which started in the beginning of the 20th century and carried on until about the 1960’s.

“Modern painting, breaking through old conversation, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world.”(Gropius) The birth of modernism and modern art goes back to the Industrial Revolution, a period that lasted from the 18th to the 19th century, in which rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, and technology profoundly affected the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and eventually the world. Before the 19th century, artists created art pieces for wealthy people and institution places like the church where they can create art works about storytelling of religious or mythological scenes . These arts were there to instruct the viewers.However, this changed when during the 19th century many artists began to create works that were about people, places, or ideas that interested them, and of which they had direct experience. With the popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind, many artists began exploring dreams, symbolism, and personal iconography as avenues for the depiction of their subjective experiences.Challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world, some artists experimented with the expressive use of color, non-traditional materials, and new techniques and mediums.

Post-modernism design was definitely not for the faint hearted, designs mainly focused on bright colours and unusual shapes. They were very experimental yet sometimes limited due to time costly processes. The movement began in architecture as a reaction against the modernistic movement. Postmodernism saw a rise during the decade of the nineteen-eighties, however, this expressive style was not only seen in interior design, but also in fashion and other art movements. Escapism and fantasy were a source of inspiration for avant-garde designer collections, a lot of Japanese designers became known in Western capitals for their inventive styles that explored into both volume and proportion. The elements translated from post-modern architecture were in the form of expressive shapes and interesting exterior façade colours. Whereas, contemporary designs follow a more mature and sleek finish, with works from architects such as Zaha Hadid. Alongside contemporary design comes sustainability and reducing carbon footprints, taking into consideration the traditional materials used to build them.