Modernism : Art And Architecture

Architecture is a physical manifestation of the needs and aspirations of a society and is determined by few factors – context, climate, environment, and socio-cultural aspects of a place or a region. It includes not only monumental and professionally designed monuments but also quaint residential structures built by craftsmen and lay people for their own use. It includes the interrelationships of the built and open spaces within the larger landscape. (Tipnis, 2012)

Change is inevitable. Every society and culture experiences change every day. When change comes gradually, people accept it as part of their life, but when it happens rapidly it affects all aspects of the society and culture in an uncontrolled way. Architecture reflects the experience of the society.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, changes in the dynamics of society caused intellectuals to question the traditions of everyday life. From religious views to the arts of literature, traditional values and forms were rejected, thus defining a line between the two time periods, which can be considered as the start of the Modern era. Also known as Modernism, the modern era used literature as an outlet for expressing the thoughts and feelings of the time. Modern texts use city life, industrialization and globalization, and ironic and satirical themes to showcase their bleak outlook on life post both world wars. The nature of these events are aspects of society

“It is as if things generated other things in their own images by human intermediaries captivated with those possibilities of sequence and progression…” “In our terms each invention is a new serial position.” “Without change there is no history; without regularity there is no time” states Kubler. Goldhagen follows: “Modernist architects were also forging a common architectural culture, an enterprise that often engenders a spirit of cooperation, building upon what people share…” “[the modern movement] was now subjected to centrifugal rather than centripetal forces, It splintered into a number of more distinct and evolving discursive

A global city becomes the place where the typical project and the so-called objects of international style in architecture are realized when building the main complexes - from flats to trade centres and administrative buildings. The sources of international style in the modern architecture are rooted in the epoch of modernism at the beginning of the 20th century, when the rejection of the old artistic and plastic language was perceived as something new and modern.

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

Christopher Crouch wrote “Modernism in Art, Design and Architecture” in 1999, in order to acquaint his audience to the concepts of Modernism and the Post-Modern evolution, through a concise and captivating argument, which effectively ties to the advancement of contemporary visual culture, and to the socio-political conditions in which it is composed of. Crouch investigates the diverse ways in which visual culture emulates its conceptual and physical provenance in elite, mass, and cultural practices.

By analyzing various articles that provides various viewpoint on the phenomenon of Modernism and its relationship to modernist architectures during the 1920s and 1930s, linkages, similarities and differences between how each author define modern architecture can be observed. These varying viewpoints encourages not only the identification of ‘Traditional’ and ‘Art Deco’ movements but also the critical understanding of modern architecture’s evolution and its relation to the societal beliefs, authority, resource and function during the Interwar Period.

Although, most post-modernist architects had been associated with modern architects in terms of training during the twentieth century, they refused most their teachers ideas. In addition, today's architects cannot deny the modern architecture ways of designing any building. Their design, for instance, has many philosophical meaning such as constructional, environmental, sociological, commercial and metaphorical meaning.

Architecture is dependent on current trends. It was comparable with any other form of art, whether it is music, fashion design or painting. There is great demand for the incorporation of the latest and greatest advances in architectural design into the modern structures. Many people would want their structures to be at-per with the latest designs, but

expected to work day in and day out, in order to keep up the organised

Contemporary architecture as told before, is not a style but most likely an expression of the now. It has been also called as neo-traditional, neo-classical and neo-modern. It is the one that is produced now, unlike the Modern architecture, which breaks with the past and mainly from the classical ornamentation.

Modernism at its core focuses on the world, culture and society during the time in which works were made in the late 19th and 20th centuries. While Modernism encompassed a handful of unique styles and movements, only one in particular took an interest in the qualities of dreamlike states and unconsciousness: Surrealism. The Surrealist period dates back to its beginning in 1924 and ending in 1945. Members of this art movement worked together closely in an organized fashion under their leader Andre Breton. Under Breton’s work the First Surrealist Manifesto written in 1924, he laid down the movement’s foundation and created a stepping stone for other artists to follow behind. Through this text and the artist’s works, “the Surrealists laid the foundation for a type of artistic practice that continues to maintain its relevance.”1 Surrealist artists took a stand against the formal workings of the everyday, trained artist and instead looked within themselves to create works turning away from control and logical reasoning that continuously inspires artists even to this day.

Contemporary architecture as told before, is not a style but most likely an expression of the now. It has been also called as neo-traditional, neo-classical and neo-modern. It is the one that is produced now, unlike the Modern architecture, which breaks with the past and mainly from the classical ornamentation.

“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.