Post 3 / Modernism

Modernism is a western school of thought that impacted various aspects of culture, but particularly the arts. Modernism, in a nutshell, was a rejection of the many traditions made prominent in the nineteenth century. The end of the nineteenth century saw many artists looking for new ways to express themselves. This exploration saw artists like Liubov Popova combining painting and sculpture in her work, and Sonia Terk Delaunay contributing to the development of a theory of color called simultanism.

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Some women artists in Europe influenced the techniques and development of modernism through their willingness to push boundaries. Claude Cahun for example, was a photographer who photographed herself in a wide range of gender-bending stereotypes that aimed to scandalize everyone. "She defiantly presents herself as both object and subject of her own sexual fascinations," (Guerrilla Girls 63).

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Suzanne Valadon was one of the first women artists to work with the nude female form. Modernism saw women artists working to redefine the visual language of the female form in the art world, and Valadon was certainly at the forefront of this. "Valadon's female nudes fuse observation with a knowledge of the female body based on her experience as a model. Rejecting the static and timeless presentation of the monumental nude that dominates Western art, she emphasizes context, specific moment, and physical action," (Chadwick 285). Valadon made a point to highlight the various moments in everyday life that women engage in. She emphasized women as fellow people and subjects of works of art that demonstrated universal experiences.

A few important circumstances that aided women's influence in modernism were Saint Petersburg Drawing School in Russia, the Russian revolution, and the battle for control of reproductive rights in France. The Saint Petersburg Drawing School started accepting women in 1842 when a lot of other schools in Europe were not. In 1918 Lenin issued a decree urging artists to work for the revolution that took place. Russian artists created a new kind of abstract art that was meant to "uplift the masses." The use of text and imagery brought elements of design to prominence.

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society, 4^th Ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007. Print.

The Guerilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, London: Penguin, 1998. Print.