craft as self development
Contemporary Art
1964 Harold Rosenburg
done not for the sake of art but for the artists sake
Modernism
- 1863 - 1970's - several phases of modernism through that time
- heavily criticised
- the subject of lots of discussion over the years
- covers a range of medium
- compartmentalised - set of boxes easily identified
philosophy of modern art
History of Modernism
renaissance period > promoted citizenship + civic conciousness
confidence potential of humans shaping their individual destinies and future of the world
belief humans can learn/understand nature/natural forces/the universe
everything submitted to reason > tradition, customs, morals, art
"TRUTH" - discovered through thinking
- could be applied to 'correct' problems and 'improve' political +social culture
using art to promote truth etc.
show people the proper way to behave
Progressive Modernism
- paint 'other things' eg prostitutes - offensive at the times of the painting
individual liberties
wanted radical change
inhumanity shown in the blighted landscape from the industrial revolution
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
freedom - v. important to modernism
Civil Disobedience - don't pay a tax if you think it is immoral - Beardy Guy
- read by Ghandi
'help people' - good Samaritan painting
Conservative Modernists
freedom of choice - subject matter/style/colour/brush stroke
Art shouldn't be there to make people better
- Art for art's sake
Oscar Wilde
'when an artist tries to supply what the people want he stops being an artist and becomes a dull/amusing craftsmen'
Art for art's sake
> art discussed in formal elements
- civilised human beings can understand the formal elements
a self referential autonomy
-> art only refers to itself
->only criticised in art terms
stands separate from the mundane world
becomes about the artists
modernisms 'history' talked about through references only to itself
art for art's sake
Formalism - a form of control over unruly/disruptive art
early art in 20th Century tries to break formalism
search of art - enlightenment terms a search for the truth/essence of art
Kadinsky -
Mondrion - both trying to produce universal art
using formal elements - lines/colour/shapes
stripping away the material world to reveal the spiritual world
Goals of Modernism
- reject tradition
- challenge to false harmony + coherence
- stop painting things +move towards the spirit
machine aesthetic - idea - perfect thing everyone can have
artists tried to be shocking but made their work more valuable
affirms power of human beings
Principles of Modernism
Truth to Materials
what you make it out of you should make it look like that thing
Decoration/Adornment vs. Form
a partnership with a machine can be arty
instead of looking at things + seeing the ugly - look and see the beauty
BAUHAUS about function
- marriage of form and function
Genius
idea of artistic genius appears during modernism
Babbit
The Genius and the Spirit of the Pot
Leech - to describe the clay
- human body parts
- living
- connections with the past
- possessor of virtues + having a spirit
- honesty
Is Self-Development Enough?
questions raise
eg. who does modernism serve?
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