World War 1 Abstract Expressionism

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

Modernism is a set of cultural arrays and tendencies of associated cultural movements in a changing society. It is believed to originate from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western civilization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the years following World War1. Modernism involves breaking from the past set of established rules, traditions and conventions in search of new forms of expression and man's functions. New ideas in politics, psychology and philosophical theories are the main factors that led to a search for new modes of expression. Characterized by social change, industrialization, and advance in science and fueled by metropolitans and technological developments.

World War 1 art was first introduced when world leaders felt they would benefit by having artists on the front lines sketching and painting the scenes of warfare. They gathered eight daring artists determined to bring the aspects and details of war effort home. The artists sketched all from allied powers and central powers to the prisoners of war.

Before the war, art commonly featured the Victorian era. The paintings look very realistic before the war. After the war, the Dada movement swung in. Introducing styles of art like cubism, surrealism, and abstract art. A common theme between surrealism and cubism is that both types of art are about distorted reality. This is an effect that World War 1 had on art and people. World War 1 made people question many things (a reason why they called themselves “The Lost Generation”) about their life and what was real. Their reality became distorted, which transferred to their art. This is a major difference between before the war and after. Because before the war, ballets and new innovations were being created. During the war, people were dying or getting amputations. As the war continued lives were ended for no particular cause. Another death was another statistic. This really messed people up, twisting their sense of reality and sanity. Because art is a form of expression, artwork had a drastic change due to the events of World War

“The year 1900 ushered a new era that changed the way reality was perceived and portrayed” (History of Modernism). Modernism changed the way of life and how people adapted to the changes

‘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

Modernism was definitely affected by germany's world war 1 and particular austria too. During that period, world war 1 bought an end towards the traditional values and society that existed in the Prussian Empire. The years between World War I and World War II allowed modernism to expand dramatically. Propaganda and war posters are perfect examples of modernism. Not only did modern artists provide social awareness; they also actively supported political revolutions, such as the Russian Revolution. The Russian revolution provided and excellent opportunity for modern artists to experiment with new expression methods. The posters and propaganda of this revolution in particular were very abstract and futuristic, almost industrial; all of which fitted

Art shows the perspective of those responding to emotional and traumatic life experiences by…giving visual of events that happened during World War 1 or poetry to trigger the minds of the audience who dont understand it. In the art piece The Twins was made in 1916 by Robert W Service), it shows how the art piece was made in the middle of war when soldiers were being drafted to help defeat enemy. It was showing how people were trying to show nationalism by joining war and other decided not to do. It also shows how many people risked their lives during World War 1 even though their family members didn't care. The second art piece is called Blood and Iron” (1916) Charles Ernest Butler. In the description box it says “The work shows no obvious hero to resolve the chaos and destruction.

This was the first time most people were exposed to such a serious level of horror and pain. Writers could no longer relate to the sense of romantic optimism. The modernism movement itself is based not upon history or the events of the time, but on the alienation, loss, and despair so deeply rooted in the minds of everyone affected by World War I.

It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established

During the years before World War I, European countries were involved in an educational, psychological, and social upheaval. Communism was on the rise and great thinkers like Sigmund Freud provided theories that led everyday citizens into the psyche. European society was unstable, as well as the artistic foundations that were weaved into the fabric of European society. The introduction of new ideas such as Cubism and atonal music gave way to even more radical approaches to art. Radicals with nihilistic notions who occupied the extremes of political and social views led way to a new type of artist. These artists criticized the deeply rooted concepts of art and even attacked the idea of art itself. These new artists appealed to the irrational

Modernism was a movement that was developed during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Modernism developed due to the changes happening in societies at the time. Around the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century there was a rise in the industrial society’s where there were advancements in technologies and machines, and a rapid growths in cities. This lead to a change in cultural trends and philosophies, which is known as modernism. Modernism was well known for the rejection on traditional way, such as the arts and beliefs. It rejected the idea of realism and religious beliefs. During these years modernism could be distinguished by two aspects, High and Low Modernism.

What further contributed to the rise of modernism was the First World War, which shell-shocked many. People lost their sense of certainty and it made them change their points of views. It made modernists question civilisation. This is seen in T.S Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” which questions

“I think, therefore I am.” is a well known phrase said by René Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician, meaning that “I will only believe what I can see and prove”. Modernism is a movement of all creative forms like art, literature, music and so on, which began roughly around the 1850’s till approximately the 1970’s when it slowed down in Western society. It is characterized by the rejection of traditional aspects and the progression of innovation through science, technology and discovery, and has impacted the economical, social and cultural attitude, and debates the axiom of the Age of Enlightenment. Whereas modern art is the subsequent response to the new viewpoint and customs of current time and ideal visions of human life, society and belief in progress, by embracing the innovative and experimental styles, and then producing unconventional artworks that pushes how society and culture is today in art movements, as it is driven by political and social agendas, examples like Symbolism, Cubism, Dadaism. I will be covering how modernism, seen in modern art, is modern, due to the social effects of capitalism, which is the imbalance in social systems, progression in society, destruction of human value, economical progression and an increased standard of living.

“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.