Modern Art 1900-40

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.

However, all art changes after the war. Artists were trying to make sense of the horrible world around them and became abstract artists that they believed they could leave the world and become abstract. They thought that they could heal themselves by going into their dreams and escape the world. At the same time, the constructivists were looking at modern technology with hopes to heal the world with new things and technology. Dada reacted to WWI and made anti-arts against the romantic idealism of war. For example, Dada made Mona Lisa has whiskers because Mona Lisa symbolized old world art. In Russia, they have social realism which depicts strength and progress and this is another reaction to World War I. People were making art with the belief of communism. They believed that communism could heal the world and that people could unite and become strong to make Russia a healthy country, which didn’t work. Both WWI & WWII were very influential with art history, but WWII is more devastating with 70 million people died. Almost everyone was affected by this war. Europe is devastated, so the art world shifts to America and abstract expressionist artists appear- Freud’s student Carl Jung, is an expressionist artist who believed in the importance of spiritual world and not

“World War I was not inevitable, as many historians say. It could have been avoided, and it was a diplomatically botched negotiation,” once said Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat. Many people worldwide agree with Mr. Holbrooke, believing WWI to be a waste of human lives. Known for its ridiculous start, fueled by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and its huge impact on numerous countries earned it the title of the Great War. Though many people considered it pointless and as a war with many negative repercussions, WWI did lead to some positive outcomes, such as its art. Not only were new movements created, but also new styles of existing forms of art resulted from the war. Because of the different ways that art developed both on and off of the battlefield during the Great War, WWI is one of the most influential wars on the development of art in the twentieth century.

When thinking of traditional art I tend to imagine the grandiose oil paintings or gestural sculptures of figures displayed in the various national galleries I have visited, this to me, is what I think of being 'traditional' in terms of art. A more general description of traditional art is; “Art that is a part of the culture of a group of people, skills and knowledge of which are passed down through generations from master craftsmen to apprentices.” (www.yourdictonary.com, 14/11/2017). whereas I do to a extent agree with this statement, I am however conscious that in the current day the term 'traditional art' is used in opposition with digital art. So therefore in the digital era traditional art can be seen as an art form that is created with a physical and tangible medium, usually painting or sculpture, as opposed to art created using digital means.

The contrast between the light cream background and the maroon blouse have successfully drawn in viewers attention. The contrasting colours have made the overall artwork standout. The viewers eyes are snatched towards the vibrant red then it is directed to Kramer’s peaceful expression. Her expression is identified as the focal point of the painting. It encapsulates the meaning of stillness expressing the relaxation and tranquilness. Greensmith had chosen to use a variety of different colour tones to help sculpt and emphasis Kramer’s features. The use of darker shades towards her left side creates a shadow, indicating her angled sitting position.

This art piece, created in the latter half of the war, was made by the author

The oil painting is an attempt to map the motion and energy of the body. It is a sequential depiction of movement split into a series of about twenty different static positions that show a nude figure descending a flight of stairs. The nude, like the notion of the painting, is abstract, composed of conical and cylindrical shapes and elements, assembled in a way that suggests the rhythm of the body when going downstairs. The colours used are those typical of Cubist paintings - ochres and browns. This is because Cubists felt that using a

The second is the use of lighting. On the right side the woman is bright because of the light shining on her illuminating her body and features. Yet her head is turned to the left looking away from the light making the emotion of the painting more than just sexual but in a way innocent and unsure. The idea of female innocence as a part of sexual nature of women has transcended time and is still a huge part of art and ways of thinking. Contemporary art follows some of the key features of the art that came before it, making it easy to identify representations of sensual

As a number of leading artists got involved in the War, most of the art campaigns stopped. Individual artistic creations became less radical and started to step down from abstraction to concrete representations. In particular, the program in which the government appointed the artists as war correspondents has resulted in some of the most exceptional artworks of this century. This is, perhaps, because the artists have been exposed to wider issues of human nature, which were absolutely catastrophic and tragic.

This painting was created during a time period when sexiness was not over exposure. During this time, less meant more.

For my first passport assignment for anthropology, my friend and I visited the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art Museum (SMOCA). They had just revamped the place to represent woman artists from Aboriginal Australia. The exhibit was called “Marking the Infinite”. There were nine female artists in the exhibition who gave a glimpse into the diverse contemporary art practice of Aboriginal Australia. Their names are Nonggirrnga Marawili, Wintjiya Napaltjarri, Yukultji Napangati, Angela Pwerle, Carlene West, Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Lena Yarinkura, Gulumbu Yunupingu, and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu. They use their art to empower their all-around respective communities and speak to universal contemporary themes. From all over different areas of Australia,

The objects and figures in this painting are broken up and seem to put back together so that more is seen. For example, the woman on the left, carrying what seems to be a dead child, and the man lying with his arms stretched out both have their heads drawn in profile, but her entire face is visible, as are both his eyes. Again, we see both the eyes of the woman in the bottom right corner, but also her rear. A lot is cut up, spread out flat, and the images also overlap. Cubism challenges

The first work that drew my attention was a piece titled Here Everything Is Still Floating made in 1920 with the use of cut-and-paste printed paper and pencil on printed paper on card stock. This small, 6x8 inch work has a very intense impression when viewed. It was made a few years after the first World War, and is a commentary on that experience. Germany, during the time in which Ernst was found himself serving, was a time where even citizens found themselves in a state of being confused, scared; the events were so sudden, they were not prepared for.v The ground in this piece is an image of an aerial chemical bomb attack that was originally from a book on German military aviation. He also cut out a

World War II was a war that was forever etched in history as a result of it destruction and overwhelming body count. But who would have thought that this war would have found a way to impact art before it’s time. Before Hitler rose to power, he used the civil war in Spain around 1936 as his personal field test. In response, arts took to their trade to cope with their frustration and express their opinions. Then as war was on the verge of beginning, Hitler stole modern art from Jewish artists and put them in his own show. His show was titled “Degenerate Art,” and it portrayed the artist as demented people who were a hindrance to society. He felt sane people were incapable of producing such abstract art. He went on to sponsor another

Art is a human activity, the product of this activity or the idea that we are in fact deliberately targeting sense, emotions and intellect. Art and writing are different forms of expression but they both can convey the same intensity for the creator. Art can be used to express thoughts, emotions and feelings whereas writing is a form of expressing ideas and opinions. Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway are those two names, which they don’t need to identification. They are well-known personality from lifetime works on their own respected fields. Pablo Picasso and Hemingway are most well-known in the 20th century and still popular in art and literature. Both artists created valuable paintings, stories and novels from their imagination and express beautifully that reader and viewer can inspired by them. That why they are always be our inspiration and idol.