Mini #4

Wilfredo jimenez

Prof. Cacoilo

4/4/2017

Mini Post III:

Modernism and its Isms

            Modernism was a time of experimentation, individualism and self-expression mainly in Europe. Modernism didn’t follow a set of rules but it was art and design which rejected the past and its ideologies in the search of an individualized language and message. Styles ranging from surrealist to the abstract, anything and everything was possible but no styles dominated the others. Women in the 20^th century had a different life than men artist, they still faced had to fight for their rights, and fight against the gender roles that society was placing on them. In this period women struggled with credibility as their works were often accredited to their husbands or any artist men that were in their life, but a change was brewing.

A new movement began where women sought equal rights, they created organizations and groups that focused on advocating and speaking up for women by women, and change began to occur in the domestic and public spheres. The social environment continued its dynamic progression and world war I served to expand global unrest; the sudden need of men in war allowed for women at home to take over the workforce and have roles in social, professional and political matters that were entrusted only to men. With more confidence women artist set out to address personal and transnational issues of identity, and the male gaze.

Abstraction

Abstraction is the fragmentation and re-contextualization of forms, shapes, and ideas to create a new understanding or deliver a personal message to the audience. The birth of this movement was related to the rejection of rules and ideologies of classical painting, sculpture and design, the artist sought to break the mold to allow for a new future in the arts. Abstraction during this period took different form; some were paintings like Sonia Delaunay’s “Couverture” which featured shapes in unique colors working together to create a composition.  “The basic task of the textile artist today is to link his work on textiles with dress design…to outlive all the craft methhods of working, to introduce mechanical devices…to beinvolved in the life of the consumer…and most importantly to know what happens to the cloth after it is taken from the factory.” (pg.275) This is the mindset of an abstract artist, a focus on relationships and the development of the works away from the page. Another artist that took abstraction in a different direction was Elaine de Kooning who focused on portraits and used the color to represent the emotions she felt and how she wanted the audience to feel. An example of this can be her painting “bullfight” where the color composition tricks your eye into seeing forms and relationships.

Sonia Delaunay's "Couverture"

Elaine de Kooning's "Bullfight"

German Expressionism and Dada

German Expressionism refers to a movement that originated in Germany and spread through the U.S; it featured architecture, dance, painting, sculpture and early forms of cinema design. The goal of this movement was to visually represent the world in a subjective point of view, distorting shapes and forms for emotional effects to invoke moods or communicate ideas to the viewers involved. Some artist in this categories are Gabrielle Munter, Paula Becker, Grace Hartigan and others. Dadaism focused on rejecting the established logic, reason and capitalist society, these artist wanted to break the rules and create their own language anti-art. Some of the artist from this time are Hanna Hoch, sophie Taeuber-Arp, and Elsa Freytag-Loringhoven among others.

Hanna Hoch "Dadaismo"

     

Sophie Taeuber Polychrome, Quadrangular Spots

Elsa Freytag-Loringhoven "Portrait of Marcel Duchamp"

Surrealism

            Surrealism was the distortion of the know and the marriage of these elements to the unknown and the unseen. It often focused on the unconscious mind and the creativity found within the artist. Some women artist that focused on surrealism are Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, and dorothea Tanning.

Frida kahlo "Girl with death mask"

Leonora Carrington "La maja del tarot"

Conclusion

The meeting point of all these movements is the desire to break down the establishment and create a new source of life and message. All of these women spoke about something, whether it was focused on their appearance, their beauty, their skill, their judgment or their creativity and pain. Each of their paintings spoke and stood side by side amongst men, for the first time receiving the credit they deserved for their hard work and innovation. World war I, women’s rights and the congregation of women helped boost them to new levels.

Citations: 

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art and Society. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007. Print.

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