Modernism : Modernism And Modernism

Though the start of the modernisation may trace back to the beginning of Industrial Revolution. “Modernism in the design world did not exist in a fully developed form, until well after First World War.” (Wilk, 2006) Causing the great loss of lives and other countless damage to the world, it reshaped many people’s way of thinking the world. With the inspiration of early avant-garde movement, the modernism began to emerge advocating an utopian future and shared certain core principles by various styles of modernists: rejecting the past and applied ornament; forms follow function, a preference for

The literary modernism time period was a movement in literature that started in the early 1890s and was very eventful. During this era there were many considerable events taking place such as The Great War (also known as “World War One”), which started in 1914. This War lasted for four years and finally ended in 1918, but its effects lasted much longer. The financial instability of Europe and death caused by this First World War gave people a sense of patriotism that unified them. It made people think of not only the society as a whole, but themselves as individuals ("Modernism."). This new individualist mindset made people think more about their thoughts and actions than they had ever previously done before. Because individuals thought

Moreover, I explained how each image is an example for the core principles of modernism as mentioned in the overview. In brief, modernist design is innovative. Space, form and structure is based on the functional requirements. Designs became simple and without overwhelming traditional aesthetic concepts. Therefore, technology together with simpler design made the product easy to be mass produced. After the first World War, designers in central Europe intended to change the world for better through art by rejecting ornamentation as it resembled of the past generations whom withstood the unpleasant effects of war and poverty (Smith, 2005). Dormer (1993) writes that:

“Modernism was the answer to the world’s woes.” (Heller, 2012). In a way, this was true. The modernism movement in graphic design started after World War 1, influencing the world after a time of war and hardship - just when it was vulnerable and needed it most. Modern artists of the time had the opinion that art and design should echo life in the consitutional revolution and communicate with a modern audience through deeper ideas and values in their design and art works. The Modernist movement broke away from traditions in thinking, society and art. A new era was starting. The Modernism movement eventually developed into two parts - the “high” modernism and the “low” modernism. High modernism represents the intellectuals and low modernism was based to the everyday person. Low modernism also focused on mass production and accesibility whereas high modernism focused on the ideas and values they were trying to communicate and influence through their work. The movement was moving away from traditional thinking in art and society, giving a new beginning to the world of design. This was because design was needed to relate to the every day audience as well as having a deeper meaning, so two streams were created. Modernism ignored the previous tendency to only use realism in art, deeming it unnecessary and irrelevant. In fine arts high modernism was mostly geometrical abstraction and expressionism whilst low is the practical set of guides for new influences on society. But which

Art has been a recurring part of history from the very beginning. As society changes so does the style of art. Each new style is known as a movement and one of the most prominent, long-lasting movements in recent centuries is known as Modernism. Modernism is characterized by its deviation from tradition. People who are a part of this movement found enjoyment in finding new mediums to use, creating art that revolves around feelings and emotions rather than reality. Abstract idealisms of modernism cause its viewers to need to think more critically about the art before them. In past movements, the meaning of the work was obvious as it was created to mimic reality.

Throughout Art History, it is apparent that techniques are established and flaunted to create some vivid image of a story, or a message. Up to the post war of World War II, art has delivered a scene which can be interpreted through context clues such as; current philosophies, current events, and folk-lore. Then, mainstream art had undergone a significant change in theme post World War II. New York City, United States of America, became the art capital of the world. Why? It is arguably due to Abstract Expressionist art and Pop Art known as Modernism. Modernism completely new to the world, and both of which abandoning some common core themes to art. Two famous artists whom facilitated and practiced such dramatic alterations in art culture are Paul Jackson Pollock, or just known as Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol.

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

The Modernism literary period represented a paradigm shift for breaking established traditions of the previous centuries. Modernism has no definitive starting point but can be argued to have begun in the early 1900s to the mid-1900s. However, rather than optimism, the focus of many writers revolved around pessimistic ideas that saw the faults in humanity. In order to break conventions, many different writing styles emerged in search of uniqueness. The literary period of Modernism characterizes around its starting circumstances, beliefs, and famous works.

Postmodernism is an artistic theory and a social mindset that sought to break the shackles of the so called modernist art society. Famous artist kept getting recognition as their pieces were critiqued by famous critics and was deemed ‘High art’, as it was separated and elevated from other art forms. This practice excluded the masses from being a part of the art of that time and reserved it for the high class society. Many artists rose to counteract this movement, one of which was Andy Warhol, who “emerged as specific reactions against the established forms of high modernism… which conquered… the art gallery”. (Jameson 111). Thus the post-modernism movement was in its essence a reaction against modern art ideas. Andy Warhol who gained fame in the 1960’s, characterized his pieces using all the elements from this movement. His work lacked any arbitrary meaning nor any deep ideas about the facets of human life or nature for example, and this exact idea changed the art world and made him a trailblazer of the postmodern art period. His creations embodied post modernistic ideals and illustrated it through his pieces and his use of the media.

To fully appreciate the differences and similarities between Postmodernism and Modernism, it is required to understand exactly what they are. Modernism is the term we give to the accumulated creations and activities of designers in the early 20th century, who had the theory that traditional forms of literature, religion, social organization, and most of all, art and architecture, had become outdated in the new social, political, and economic environment of a fully industrialised world. One of the main characteristics of Modernism is self-consciousness, which typically caused exstensive experimentations of form and function. The creative process of generating work was also explored, forming new techniques in design. Modernism rejected all ideology of realism and prefers to reference and parody works of the past. Postmodernism, on the other hand, is a radical rejection of Modernist design. Taking place in the late 20th century, it is a movement in art, criticism, and architecture that disputes the majority of modernist tendencies. The Postmodernist analysis of society and culture lead to the expansion of critical theory and advanced the works of architecture, literature, and design. This entire re-evaluation of the western value system of popular culture, love, marriage, economy, that took place from the 1950s and 60s, leading to the peak of the Social Revolution in 1968, is commonly referred as Postmodernity which influenced postmodern thought, as opposed to the term

‘Modernism’ is derived from ‘modo’, a Latin word which means “just now”( Philosophy Basics. n.d.). Modernism, in its broad explanation includes the different movements related to art in the Europe, initiating from the end of the 19th century till the beginning of 20th century (Design History Mashup, Philip S. , 2008). These latest European movements developed to reject the conventional arts of the previous times. The public, who showed initial controversy to the new ideas, gradually acknowledged them. A major portion of these European movements and the public and political protests were

Among other nations, America remained intact following the Great War and its rampant pattern of destruction and economic hardships. America emerged to new levels of consumerism and prosperity, and with this prosperity, new modern industries emerge such as automobiles, tourism, and large-scale production; to the demise of traditional and now inefficient industries such as agriculture. Respectively, these new industries began to dominate cities and created vast amounts of jobs and wealth, a rise in cheaper consumer products such as the automobile, Americans began to be able to purchase more, go further, listen to the radio, and in general develop a wider reach of culture with several new means of receiving and submitting ideologies and ideas A major component of the new modern culture came with expressive work such as Hollywood, radio, and newspaper – creating the new city culture popping with flamboyant new-age women and the fast life that Hollywood portrayed; Modernists. Conjunctively, Traditionalists represented the portion of the American population that resented such immoral development; valuing small communities, racial, religious, and general ethnic homogeneity. Cultures began to clash with each other, traditionalists did all they could to combat this ‘degeneracy’ such as prevailing nativism and methods designed to discourage minorities or other ideological opponents, including the

The Modernist Period was first a reaction against the previous Victorian culture. Intellectuals and artists of the 20th century believed that the previous era’s way of doing things was a cultural dead end and they wanted to break away from traditions.

The beginning of 20th century was a time of drastic change. New developments were made in the arenas of the classical sciences, social science, psychology and philosophy - each challenging traditional thought. Industrialization and the introduction of many new, challenging concepts in the fields of politics as well as the development of new technologies gave artist more freedom to innovate and break the rules of traditional art. By using new materials, techniques and the new approach artists were pushing boundaries of what has previously been accepted art practice in order to invent radically new styles.

“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.