Modernism 1900 1930 Definition of Modernism Rather than

Modernism 1900 -1930

Definition of Modernism Rather than an artistic style, modernism was a rebellious state of mind that questioned all artistic, scientific, social, and moral conventions.

Characteristics: Challenging Conventions 1. by embracing nihilism 2. by rejecting every system of belief 3. by believing in the self-sufficiency of each individual work of art 4. by adopting primitivism 5. by exploring perversity 6. by focusing on the city rather than nature

Nihilism: The Belief in Nothing • Modernists viewed the world, and especially human existence, as being meaningless. • Modernists rejected the belief that morality and organized religion provided the means for social evolution and/or the betterment of man.

Rejection of all Systems of Belief • Modernists questioned all accepted systems: – the sciences – political/social/economic paradigms – the arts, especially the Academy

Self-sufficiency of a Work of Art • Art was not to be judged on the old standard of mimesis, the literal representation of reality. • Art needed to be judged on an individual basis. • Art should be judged on the basis of how well an artist is able to communicate the purpose of the work as well as the relationship between meaning and form.

Modernists Rebelled Against the Dictates of the Academy • Each country had its Academy, an institution that judged what was proper and what was not in the depiction of reality. • The Academy saw its task as the education of artists in the practice of an idealizing art in the classical (or classicizing) tradition. • The Academy was a school as well as a regulatory body. William-Adolph Bouguereau. Dawn (1875). Oil on canvas.

Judges of the French Academy in 1903

What Was Acceptable? Gustav Klimt. Idylle (1884). Oil on canvas. • Goal of the artist was to achieve perfection through the following: – a highly polished style – use of historical or mythological subject matter – a moralistic tone

The Modernist Artist • systematically and deliberately developed an art that testifies to all that is strange, unknown, and unlabeled in the self • created a new language of images that described the inexpressible • expected the viewer/reader to interact with the work Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907). Oil on canvas.

Primitivism • Modernists rejected technology and the rigidity of society and its institutions. • Modernists embraced the natural primal roots of primitive man. • Modernists embodied the pursuit of personal and artistic freedom. Pablo Picasso. The Dryad (1908). Oil on canvas.

Perversity • Modernists explored the uncivilized nature of man. • Modernists suggested that being “civilized” was merely a veneer that quickly vanishes. Emile Nolde. Saint Mary of Egypt : Among Sinners (1912). Oil on canvas.

Focus on the City Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street in Dresden (1907). Oil on canvas. • Modernists shifted away from nature. • Modernists explored the city as a place of lonely crowds and marginalized individuals.

Forces that Shaped Modernism • technology and the new science • the new philosophical paradigms F. H. Bradley Alfred Whitehead Albert Einstein • the new psychological paradigms Sigmund Freud Carl Jung Henri Bergson • the new geo-political paradigms

Technology and the New Sciences • generated optimism • created dynamic industrial and urban growth • accelerated the way life is experienced • shrank distances through new communication and transportation systems Switchboard operators

The Modernist Philosophical Paradigms The New Perception of External Reality

Relativity: Space, Time and Light • Modern thinkers broke with the belief in classical mechanics. – Newton had asserted that space and time were absolute. – Modernists, on the other hand, questioned objective reality. • Instead, the modernists embraced subjectivity. – Observations about reality are observerdependent.

F. H. Bradley: Appearance and Reality • Reality is not absolute. • An object’s appearance varies depending on from what angle it is being viewed. • To really understand an object, one has to view it from several points of view.

Alfred Whitehead: Process and Reality • Reality is not static but in a state of flux, always in the process of becoming. • No object exists in a vacuum— rather “there is no element whatever which possesses this character of simple location. ” • Each object is relevant to its surroundings in that it is in the process of becoming another object. • Matter, space, and time are all interrelated. Alfred Whitehead (1861 -1947)

Albert Einstein (1879 -1955) revolutionized the way that modern man experienced reality.

Albert Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity • Space and time are relative; only the speed of light is constant. • There is no such thing as a favored point of view. • Color is relative. • A universal present moment does not exist. Clocks positioned farther away from the mass of the earth run faster than clocks closer to the earth.

Albert Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity • Only “local” time exists. • Moving clocks run slower than stationary clocks. • Two perfectly synchronized clocks would differ according to their respective speeds. Clocks positioned farther away from the mass of the earth run faster than clocks closer to the earth.

Albert Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity • Time slows as one approaches the speed of light. • The present moment expands from a narrow sliver until it encompasses both the past and the future. • At light speed, time ceases to change because it contains all change.

Albert Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity—Speed Dilates Time A train moving away from a clock tower at 5 mph. After a minute passes, the observer on the train notes that the time on the clock is 12: 01. A train moving away from a clock tower at the speed of light. After a minute passes, the observer on the train notes that the time on the clock remains 12: 00 o’clock.

Albert Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity View of a house from a train traveling past it at 5 mph View of a house from a train traveling past it at 93, 000 miles per second

Albert Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity Traveling at the speed of light: • Creates the illusion that perspective has flattened • Space between objects is truncated • Figures begin to look two-dimensional An infinitely thin slice of compressed countryside as seen from the side windows of a train traveling past it at the speed of light

the Modernist Psychological Paradigms The New Perception of Internal Reality

Sigmund Freud • expanded the definition of sexuality • defined the major components of personality • created a dynamic psychology based on the interaction of the id, the ego, and the superego • defined the importance of the unconscious • created psychoanalysis, a science that uncovers the personality’s secrets Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)

Carl Jung • based psychology on the collective unconscious, the inherited memories of the race • developed archetypes to explain human behavior • explained how archetypes are expressed in fairy tales, myths, and artistic endeavors Carl Jung (1875 -1961)

Henri Bergson • defined human experience through duration, psychological time consisting of the constant flow from the past into the future rather than a succession of chronological instants • believed that reality is a past that constantly becomes something new • held that intuition is the most trustworthy guide to understanding Henri Bergson (1859 – 1941)

The New Global Economy • • • industrialization social and psychological fragmentation alienation class warfare economic interdependence colonialism cultural cross-fertilization nationalism war