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The Movement Of Modernism

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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 They felt that in the new time of industrialism, old ideas of traditionalism were becoming quickly outdated.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. To define Modernism as a “general movement in literature, …show more content…

In the time before the nineteenth century, most artists were commissioned by wealthy people, or large foundations such as the church. In turn, this caused most of the art from the previous time period to depict religious scenes, intended to teach the viewer. In the Modern period, artists began creating things that interested them, using people, places, and ideas that captivated them. Many artists were influenced by the publication of Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams and in turn began investigating their dreams and symbolism as ways to create new works of art. Many modern artists challenged the thought pattern that art was meant to portray the world realistically. They tried out new uses of color and brand new materials. Artists used many new techniques and mediums as a means of producing new art, especially with the invention of photography. Photography made it possible to depict the world in new ways, and to reinterpret it

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